The Patriot
by Evalea
Summary: She never wanted to be taken by S.H.I.E.L.D., but she has been, and they're doing exactly what she thought they would, turning her into a monster. When he finds out the truth about what's happening to her, Steve won't let it go, not until he's made up for what he let slip by him. A/U From Mischief Right Hand. Slow burn. M Eventually. From End of first Avengers through Endgame.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Oki doki guys so first things first IF YOU HAVE NOT SEEN ENDGAME AND DO NOT WANT _ANYTHING_ SPOILED LEAVE NOW UNTIL YOU HAVE. This story has one medium level spoiler and IT IS IN THIS CHAPTER. **

**Okay, so if you're still here I'm assuming you're cool with what you just read up there. If not, don't read this next sentence at all. This story is an alternate time line story from _Mischief's Right Hand, _****a fic about Loki and my OFC Raven. This story starts starts during Chapter nine of that story. If you don't want to read that one up until that point (Don't worry, I'm not offended), here are a few key points you should know right now. Raven was raised in S.H.I.E.L.D. and so was her brother. She was used as a test subject on recreating the Super Soldier Serum but it went wrong. She has to take medicine in order to not die. S.H.I.E.L.D. killed her brother and so she wanted to destroy them. Enter Loki, they become friends, he get's kicked out of Asgard, that whole deal, and then tells her that if she helps him get revenge, he'll help her. They sleep together, he leaves to go to Thanos, he comes back, they fight the Avengers, during the battle Raven saves Cap because he's the closest thing to her and she wants to know what's different, Hawkeye explodes the craft her and Loki are on. After that is where this picks up. It's a very simple synopsis of 9 chapters, but it works. Things should be pretty well explained through the course of this alternate timeline, but just in case. This is the first time I'm changing up a characters story like this so I'm pretty nervous about it haha. So if you have read _Mischiefs Right Hand_, this will be a little similar by way of situations at certain parts but then it will be _vastly_ different at others. Hopefully I pull it off!**

**I'm done blathering, on with the story!**

* * *

As her eyes fluttered open, she saw Iron Man fly by her with a nuclear missile on his back up towards the portal. She managed to get on her feet and made her way inside the building, finding Loki in a dent in the ground unmoving.

When she came into his view, he noticed she was favoring her shoulder, new scratches and burns on her face and shoulders where the blast had hit her. He couldn't move as she spoke to him, "Come we need to go, they're about to close the portal."

"Go." Was all he muttered.

"Not without you." She said trying to lift him up, but her body was exhausted, she had been nearing the end of her injection time and Loki knew it too. He did all he could to lift his hand to her face.

"I will be taken to Asgard, and I will not let S.H.I.E.L.D. have you." He tried to smile using what little of his magic he had left to change her outfit from her uniform to street wear, "I cannot move much, so go and if you can find me."

She took his hand and held it, hating what she was about to do, "Okay. But no matter what, you survive, you endure, I die first you remember that."

"Alright." He let out a pained laugh, "As long as you remember who you belong to until then."

"Of course." She let go of his hand and slowly went to the elevator.

He watched as she went, turning back to look at him only as she entered the doors and they closed blocking their view from each other. The elevator stopped three floors below and she cursed when the doors opened. Attempting to get the doors to shut again they wouldn't, and she was forced to get out and go for the stairs. The building was tall, but she had no other choice, she doubted anyone would be there anyways, so it was probably a good thing. After about ten flights she heard a loud huff and pounding above her. It was the Hulk and he was in the stairs.

Heading out of the nearest door she had to make her way around the building without being seen. She snuck through hallways and jumped floors when she could, making her way down to the ground floor. When she turned a corner, she was greeted by a man she didn't recognize and a man she did, Rumlow. The man lifted his gun, pointing it at her and she smirked running back on herself and jumping from a banister, S.H.I.E.L.D. wasn't getting her. She landed four flights down, cringing slightly as she hit the ground. She was running low on her shot and she could feel it now, her previous injuries from the battle hindering her even more.

Getting up, Raven limped as best as she could to find a new exit, she was over halfway down the building now. She didn't think it would be this hard to get out of this damn building. Checking a different flight of stairs than the original one she had come down, she made sure that no one, especially the Hulk was in it, and made her way down it.

Once she made it to the ground floor, she headed out the door, only to be stopped by an angry Thor, Iron Man, and half of the STRIKE team. She didn't move, she had to look for a way out, she had to think of something. Her only choice was to run for it and so she did.

Raven managed to get past STRIKE team members, but Tony hit her in the leg with a blast and she fell hard to the ground, crying out in pain. Looking up she saw red boots in front of her and when he knelt down, she saw Captain America looking back at her. She tried to get up but all of her body's energy was going to her leg and she muttered to him, "Please…don't let them have me."

"Then where is Loki?" He asked back.

"What?" She managed to get on her elbows, "You have him."

"No, he disappeared with the Tesseract." Steve told her, he watched her eyes go wide and confusion form on her face.

He'd just left her there? Why would he tell her to get safe, to not get captured and then leave her behind like that? It didn't make any sense to her, maybe he was planning something. Her thoughts didn't last long as something hit her neck, making her pass out.

Steve looked up at Clint, "Why'd you do that?"

"Because, she's more dangerous than you think Cap." Hawkeye told him and started walking back to the others, "It was just to knock her out until they can properly restrain her before we get answers."

He looked back down at the unconscious girl and moved the hair from her ponytail out of her face, seeing the slightly healed wounds from the explosion she was in earlier. Steve wanted to know as much as about her as she seemed to want to know about him.

"Don't worry Cap, we'll take her back to S.H.I.E.L.D. HQ." Rumlow told him, "Figure out what to do with her from there after we find out what all she knows about where Loki went."

"Alright." Steve stood up as the men began picking up her limp body, "I want to talk to her too when she wakes up."

"Really?" Rumlow asked, "Why?"

"She saved my life out there." Steve told him.

* * *

She was cuffed to a table, they had given her just enough of a shot to keep her alive but not put her at full strength. They'd been reaming her about Loki and she didn't know what to tell them. Raven didn't know where he was, or what he was doing, she just knew he wasn't saving her from S.H.I.E.L.D. She didn't know how long they'd been at it, interrogating her, but she knew it had been at least two days.

Her head was leaned back against the chair she was stuck in and she didn't bother to open her eyes when she heard the door open. "Just get it over with already."

"You were the one that said you had questions." His voice entered her ears and she opened her eyes seeing Steve sitting across from her. He noticed she looked tired, more tired than any of the other times he'd seen her, her skin was pale and there were dark circles under her eyes.

"There isn't any point in asking them here…where they can hear them." Raven told him.

"Mind if I ask a few then?" He asked.

"Only if I can ask one when you're done." She responded.

"Deal." He said, "Do you really not know where Loki or the tesseract are?"

"No." She answered, "He said he was getting captured and taken to Asgard and wanted me to leave before S.H.I.E.L.D. could get me."

"Okay, why were you working with him?"

"We had an understanding. I help him get what he wants, he helps me get what I want."

Steve leaned forward, "And what is it you want Raven?"

"I guess the fitting answer is to Avenge my brother." She gave him a slight smirk. "My turn?"

"One left." He lowered his voice slightly, "Why did you save me out there? You had access to all of my files, everything you could want to know, so why save me?"

"Because." She leaned in towards him too now, her eyes focused on his blue ones, "I don't trust their files. I know what they really are, what they delete, you're the only real source of information I have on what happened back then."

He nodded slightly, "What's your question?"

Her voice was quiet, a mutter to most people, but he heard it as loud as if she were screaming, "Will you kill me?"

"What? Why?" He backed away from her looking shocked.

"Because I don't want them to do anything else to me. I don't wanna be…" Her voice shook slightly, her tone still low, "Be what they're going to turn me into."

"They aren't going to turn you into anything, Raven." He told her.

She scoffed out a laugh. "I used to admire you, you know that. I wanted to be like the person who's image I was made in. Now I'm glad I'm not, because you're stupider than I ever thought you were. S.H.I.E.L.D. isn't what you think what you think they are. They're liars. Manipulators. So, if you think you can trust them, then you're nothing that I would ever want to be."

"Rav-"

"If you aren't going to kill me, then get out." She sat back in her chair, looking away from him.

* * *

Raven was taken from her holding cell, they had been just barely keeping her alive with her medication, so she couldn't fight them off and Pierce had told her that they had absolutely no plans to kill her. She was led into a room with a chair in it surrounded by all sorts of science and medical things. Being sat down into the chair, they unhooked her hands one by one and strapped them down.

Pierce came and sat down in front of her, "You know, we spent a lot of money and time on you Raven."

"And you still failed at making me right." She told him.

"Yes, yes we did. But we might consider fixing that…if this next part works." He smiled at her, "We're going to make you one of us again."

"I will _never_ work for you again." She spit in his face.

"You say that now." He walked away from her as nodes were pressed against her temple. She fought the screams wanting to push their way out of her as the electricity coursed through her whole body.

This was her hell for the next two years.

* * *

She was sparing with trainees for STRIKE, teaching them how to truly fight when Pierce walked in. He dismissed the men in the room and smiled at her, putting his hand on her shoulder, "Raven, I have a mission for you, then after, we'll fix your need for medication. Alright?"

"Yes sir." She answered back. "What do you need me to do?"

"Find and kill Steve Rogers."

"Yes sir."

* * *

**2 A/N: I know it seemed to go pretty fast in this one, but let me know what you guys think!**


	2. Chapter 2

"So, the question is, who at S.H.I.E.L.D. could launch a domestic missile strike?" Natasha asked.

"Pierce." Steve answered, his mind flickering to Raven and what she had said to him the years before, and he had let the man just take her away. He wondered if she was even still alive now.

"Who happens to be sitting on the most secure building in the world." The woman brought him back into the moment while Sam made toast.

"But he's not working alone." Steve said but before he could finish, he was cut off by a knife flying past his face.

"No, he's not." Raven said charging at him.

Steve flew up from his chair taking the full force of her attack, ramming his back into the counter. He knocked her back from him as he said, "Raven! Stop! You were right."

"Yeah, and you were wrong." She muttered going back in for another hit, striking him across the face, kicking back Natasha as she ran towards her. Raven muttered to him, "I asked you to kill me and you didn't."

"Because I thought..." He didn't know how to respond, what he had thought was wrong, and god knows what they'd been doing to her, "You can help us now, take HYDRA down."

"No. I can't." She said back as he threw her across the kitchen, Sam grabbing her around the waist, and she butted her head into his nose. "Two years is a long time Captain, a long time for them to do a lot of things."

"What did they do to you?" Steve asked as she clawed her way out of Sams grasp and back to him.

She kicked him and he grabbed her leg pulling her closer to him, "They made it to where all I can do is follow orders. _Their_ orders."

"How do we stop it?" He asked her as she tried punching him in the face again but he grabbed her arm, wrapping it around herself, forcing her try and be stronger than him as he turned her, pressing her back to his chest as he tried to contain her.

"Kill me." She said and looked up seeing Natasha with a gun on her now. Raven locked eyes with the woman, "Do it! Kill me please!"

"No! Don't!" Steve yelled, he wanted to help her, none of this was her fault. She was just a victim of HYDRA, none of it was her fault, not even what she did after they killed her brother.

She struggled against Steve trying to get free, and he noticed something, "Shoot me Romanoff! End it!"

"Steve." Natasha said, she wasn't sure what to do, the girl clearly wanted it, but she didn't know why.

"They gave me an order to kill you." Raven told him, "I can't disobey it, the only way to make me stop is to kill me."

"How are you telling us all of this then?" Natasha asked.

"It's my actions they control, they couldn't break my mind. Not after Loki." She told the woman, "They found a way to control the part of my brain that controls my actions. I don't have a choice in anything I do, I just watch myself do it."

"Yeah, well, that's gunna change." Steve said spinning her around and knocking her head on the counter, making her lose consciousness.

"That didn't kill her?" Sam asked, watching Steve as he picked up the girls limp body now.

"No, not people like her and me." He said, carrying her over to the chair at the table. Setting her down, he bent her over to where her head was lying against the wood. Moving her hair from behind her neck he asked Natasha as he pointed to a scar, "You ever see anything like this before?"

"What? A scar? Lots of people have them." Natasha answered.

"Not people who have had the super soldier serum." Steve then pointed to Ravens head, "She should have scars on her face from New York, but she doesn't, so why does she have one here?"

"It's been cut into multiple times." Natasha thought about it then pressed on the back of the unconscious girl's neck around the area of the mark, "There's something in there."

Steve felt around in the exact same spot and felt it too, a little square underneath her skin. He turned, taking the knife that she had originally thrown at him and carefully put the blade against her skin.

"Woah, are you sure that's a good idea?" Sam asked.

"Yeah." Steve said as he started to cut down the scar line.

Natasha looked at Sam, "Do you have a pair of tweezers or something?"

He nodded, heading off to the bathroom, muttering, "This is not how I expected this day to go."

When he came back. he gave the tweezers to Natasha and she told Steve to move once he was done cutting, "Here I have smaller, steadier hands then you."

Steve moved out of the way and she began sliding the tweezers under Ravens skin. Sam flinched away at the sight of this, but Natasha kept her hands steady. She grabbed onto the square and slid it from the slit in the back of the girl's neck. "It's a control chip."

"You mean like a behavioral thing?" Steve asked.

"I think so, last I heard this project had been scrapped." Natasha looked at it before dropping it on the ground and smashing it with her foot.

"No, it just looks like they've used her as a test subject for something else." Steve couldn't help but feel guilty. She'd told him exactly what would happen to her and he didn't believe her, he didn't even try to find out the truth. He'd always been told she didn't want to see him when he would try to visit her, now he knew why. He looked to Sam, "Can she borrow a bed?"

"Yeah, can we cover that though first?" Sam pointed at the cut leaking blood.

Steve nodded and they put a bandage on her neck, before he picked her up and took her to the spare room, lying her down on the bed. At least this time she wasn't as pale, but the dark circles under her eyes were the same. He patted her hand, telling her, "Don't worry, I'm going to make this up to you."

"Make what up?" Natasha asked from the door.

"She told me right after New York what S.H.I.E.L.D. was." He looked back at her, "What they would do to her and I didn't listen."

"You couldn't have known." She told him.

Steve looked back at Raven, "I knew they were hiding things from me…I should have looked into her story more before I let them take her. What they did to her they did because of me, she's my responsibility."

"Steve." Natasha's voice was soft.

"C'mon, we've got work to do." Steve said turning away from Raven and heading towards the door.

* * *

Raven woke with a slight headache and when she tried to sit up, she felt something on the back of her neck. Reaching back, she touched a bandage and wondered what the hell had happened, and more importantly, where was she? Looking around she remembered being at a house, attacking Captain America. She gasped, wondering if she had before she remembered him knocking her out and her chest unclenched. She almost killed the only person that could help her.

_Help her._

Why was she able to think that? She hadn't been able to for years. The farthest her thoughts would go is that she still needed him alive. Sitting up all the way she noticed a note on the side table with her name on it. Picking it up she read:

_You had a control chip in you. We took it out. We're taking down HYDRA and S.H.I.E.L.D. If you're good to go, then you're more than welcome to join us._

_ -Rogers_

Moving out into the living room she found the remote for the TV, turning it to the news, if they had already done it then it would be there. Instead she saw a different kind of broadcast.

"Captain America has been apprehended by S.H.I.E.L.D. after a fire fight on the freeway. He is being taken in for treason, the details of which we are still waiting to hear more on." The news anchor said.

"What's the point of hiring people to do things quietly if they end up destroying a whole city block?" She muttered before turning off the TV and heading out the door. She didn't know if they were going to make it to S.H.I.E.L.D. anymore, but she had to go back there anyways. She needed her medicine, and to kill Pierce.

By the time she made it there it was dark, Pierce would be home, she knew the Heli-carriers would be launching the next morning, but she didn't know what exactly they were for, she wasn't allowed to know that much, but she would have to wait until then to kill him. Right now, the important thing was to get inside and get to her medicine.

Using a below ground entrance she made her way though the halls unseen. She knew even if she was seen it wouldn't be that big of a deal, people were used to seeing her down there now. Once she got to the main building it was mostly empty, people all at home for the night. Making her way up to the lab she knocked out and hid anybody that tried to stop her and once she was where she needed to be she grabbed a backpack and started putting cases of her medicine in them, making sure they were secure and wouldn't break.

Taking one out she put the needle in her arm, injecting the full serum into her and she went lightheaded for a moment. Pierce hadn't been giving her full doses. She needed to sit down, she wasn't used to getting that much, her body needed to catch up. Looking around the room she saw a closet she could go into until morning, or her body recovered, which ever happened first.

* * *

**A/N: Sorry, I know this one is shorter, but it's been a busy day haha. Let me know what you guys think of it so far :)**


	3. Chapter 3

She was making her way through the hallways, up to Peirce's office until she had to stop, hearing his voice.

"Attention, all S.H.I.E.L.D. agents. This is Steve Rogers. You've heard a lot about me over the last few days, some of you were even ordered to hunt me down. But I think it's time you know the truth. S.H.I.E.L.D. is not what we thought it was, it's been taken over by HYDRA. Alexander Pierce is their leader. The STRIKE and Insight crew are HYDRA as well. I don't know how many more, but I know they're in the building. They could be standing right next to you. They almost have what they want: absolute control. They shot Nick Fury and it won't end there. If you launch those Helicarriers today, HYDRA will be able to kill anyone that stands in their way, unless we stop them. I know I'm asking a lot, but the price of freedom is high, it always has been, and it's a price I'm willing to pay. And if I'm the only one, then so be it. But I'm willing to bet I'm not."

Her fists had clenched at the sound of his voice, she had to control herself, the urge wasn't strong enough to overpower her, but it was still in there somehow. Raven had something else to focus on though and she was making her way towards it as alarms started going off. She just walked past people running who were S.H.I.E.L.D. and people who were STRIKE. Halfway up the building she saw explosions on the ground level and then was stopped by a STRIKE member, "What are you doing?"

"My orders are to protect Secretary Peirce." She answered back, "Give me your gun, I'll clear levels as I go up."

"Here." The man handed it to her, and she took the automatic weapon from him, shooting him before continuing on her way.

She didn't shoot anyone else unless they engaged her, she just kept making her way up and once she reached the office, she saw Nick Fury and Romanoff in the room with Peirce. The other council members went down, screaming, their chest's lighting up. Peirce looked at her as she came in, "Raven how nice of you to join us. The other asset is picking up on your slack."

"Yes, I very rarely let someone get the better of me." She answered him walking up and as she passed by Natasha, she pulled off the pin that would detonate and held it in her hand, "But typically I don't take half doses while also having my brain fucked with."

Natasha went over to Nick as Pierce hit the button on his phone and she just crushed the technology in her hand as it tried to go off, barely burning her skin. He stepped backwards, "Raven, kill Romanoff and Fury."

"Fuck you." She replied back, "The only person in this room dying today is you."

She shot him in the legs, a bullet to each of his thighs and he fell to the ground. "Rave-"

"I always wanted to kill you slowly, make you burn like you did my brother." She picked him up by the collar putting him in a chair, "But instead I'm going to let you bleed out while you watch your precious HYDRA go up in flames, just like I watched him go up in flames."

She shot him in the stomach and then in both shoulders before turning to look at the other two in the room. Natasha put her hands up, "We're on your side."

"Then where's Rogers?" She looked at the man.

"Why?" Fury asked.

"I still have questions." She told him, "And I don't trust a word that comes out of your mouth still."

"Hill, where's Steve at?" Natasha asked into her earpiece. When she got the answer, she pointed as shots began to fire from the ships. "He's on that Heli carrier, in the glass dome."

"Looks like the fun's just started then." She walked from the room, leaving Peirce coughing up blood, forced to watch the ships fire on each other. Heading out to the helicopter pad she watched as the ship got lower and once it was close enough, she ignored Natasha's calls for her to get in the copter with them, instead jumping onto the Heli-carrier.

She made her way through fire and explosions as the carrier hit the building and when she reached the glass dome, she saw him on the glass being beaten by who she assumed was the other asset. She jumped down, "Hey! He's mine."

The dark-haired man turned around and looked at her. "No, he's my mission!"

Steve muttered at him, "Then finish it, cause I'm with you til the end of the line, pal."

Raven saw the mans fist shaking, much like hers were in that moment as she began to run towards them. She was distracted for a moment when a support tower began crashing down, moving out of its way. Watching as it knocked the platform, they were on down with it she saw Steve start to fall into the water and her body didn't hesitate, going down after him.

She hit the water seconds after he did and swam down, wrapping her arms around him, kicking her legs as she pulled them back up to the surface. When they broke, he was unconscious. Supporting him as best as she could considering he was much larger than her she swam to the edge of the water, then dragged him up onto the dirt. Seeing the blood on his uniform from the shots he had taken, Raven took his face in her hands, "Are you still alive?"

He let out a cough and she sighed, sitting back on the ground. Looking down the bank she saw the dark-haired man watching them. Was she about to have to fight him? Instead he turned around and walked away from the two of them.

Raven felt water dripping from her backpack and hoped all of her medicine was still intact after the Heli-carrier. She looked from Steve to HQ and didn't know what would happen if she stuck around. Would she go to jail? Would S.H.I.E.L.D. keep experimenting on her? Steve was still unconscious, so she would have to wait until he was awake to ask him anything…or she could just wait until she found him alone again now that he knew who she was. Her hands were still shaking, seeing him there, vunerable. She patted him on the chest, "Don't die."

Getting up from her spot she ran into the trees.

* * *

"You're going after him?" Sam asked him.

"Not just him." Steve said, "You don't have to come with me."

"I know." Sam answered him, "When do we start?"

"We just did." Steve replied as they started walking out of the cemetery, "I'll look for Bucky right now, but both of us need to focus on Raven, she only has a limited supply of her medicine and once that's out, we don't know what will happen."

"Where would she go?"

"I don't know. She knows me better than I know her at this point. But she saved my life, so I don't think she's going to try and take over the world any time soon." He looked at his friend, "She probably went underground, she knows people and places all over the world. She might be even harder to find than Bucky."

"Maybe not. All of her files are now public, we look through them we might get some clues."

"Well then, let's start googling." Steve smiled.

* * *

**THREE MONTHS LATER**

Raven was walking out of the school, her students bowing their heads as they left. When she turned, she saw a familiar face in the dark of night. Steve smiled as he walked up to her, "You're hard to find."

"Not hard enough apparently." She answered back. A young girl came up to her and spoke in Korean and Raven answered back before the bowed their heads slightly and the girl walked away.

"Are you a teacher?" He couldn't help but be a little surprised.

"Drawing, once a week. I needed a job in order to have a place to live." She told him, "Why are you here?"

"You kept saying you had questions but didn't stick around long enough to ask them." He said.

"Because, I didn't know if I would be able to ask them once you were awake." Her fist wasn't clenching like the last time she saw him, "I don't even know if I want them answered anymore."

Turning to walk towards her bike Steve called out to her, "I'm sorry."

She stopped, turning back towards him, "For what?"

"For not believing you." He walked over to her, "For not even looking into what you were talking about when it came to S.H.I.E.L.D. You saved my life that day in New York, and in D.C., but I never gave you any sign of thanks. So, let me make it up to you now."

Raven shook her head slightly, "I don't need any thanks."

"Then what do you want?" He asked. "I know you got revenge for your brother, so something else must have taken its place."

"Right now, I just want to go home, change, and eat." She answered him.

"Lead the way." He motioned.

"You're not letting me out of this are you?"

"Nope." He smiled down at her.

"Why?" She turned on him. "Why do you care, why did you find me?"

"Because, you deserve to live how you want to." He told her, "You deserve to not have to rely on medicine because of me."

"It's not because of you." She snapped, "It's because of those bastards in S.H.I.E.L.D. or HYDRA, or whatever the hell they were."

"You don't want to see if there's anything we can do to help you?" He took her arm as she tried to turn away from him again.

"I am what I am. I came to terms with that a long time ago." She got back in his face, "How do I know that you 'help' won't make it worse?"

Before he could say anything, she jerked away from him, cringing in pain, grabbing the back of her neck as she stepped away from him, muttering to herself. He followed her, "Raven? Raven, what's wrong?"

"It's still in there." She muttered out in pain. "My last order…to kill you."

"What? But the chip-" He didn't understand.

"I don't know." She cried out, "It had been better, the urges got less the longer I was away."

"You fought them before, you can do it again." He bent down, getting level to her face, hands on her shoulder, "Raven, you don't want to kill me."

"No." She shook her head, fingers gripping at her neck, "But it hurts to fight it when it's this strong."

"It's okay." He wrapped his arms around her, and she froze as he held her tight, head pressed into his chest. The urge stopped. Her hand relaxed down away from her neck and she took in deep breaths has he ran his hand down her ponytail, "Are…are you alright now?"

"No, just better." She told him, pulling back from him, "It still wants me to kill you, but the other part is that doesn't is stronger."

"Well that's reassuring." He smiled at her. "Want to talk now?"

"No, but since you aren't giving me a choice, at least let me go home and change." She said turning to walk away.

"You said something about food too." He followed her.

"You had ramen since you woke up yet?" She asked him as they got closer to the curb.

"No, not yet." He answered.

"Well you're having it tonight." She looked up at him, "And I don't have forks."

When they stopped in front of a sport motorcycle, he looked at it, "This yours?"

"Yes, it is." She said climbing on it, "Get on."

"I don't think that thing is big enough for me." He looked back at her.

"It can handle it, now get on before I leave you." She replied.

* * *

**A/N: I always love killing Pierce for some reason haha Be sure to leave me a review! I like knowing what you guys think!**


	4. Chapter 4

Steve had held on tight during the ride, she took turns a lot faster and lower on this bike than he did on his. The stopped in front of a four-story building and climbed up the stairs on the outside of it, stopping on the roof. She keyed in the code to her apartment and when Steve went to follow her inside, she stopped him, "The last time I let a strange man into my apartment I ended up helping aliens attack New York."

"Fair enough." He put his hands up going to sit at the table that was out on the roof.

"I'll bring the food out." She said, closing the door.

He waited for a bit and when she came back out, she was in shorts and a tank top, two bowls of steaming ramen in her hands. Raven put the two bowls on the table then sat down in the chair across from him. From a sleeve she pulled out a pair of chopsticks and handed them to him before getting her own pair out. Pulling up a leg to support her arm on as she started blowing on a line of ramen she'd picked up. As she took a bite, she saw him trying to use his two sticks to pick up the noodles.

"Have you never used chopsticks before?" She asked.

"Only like once when Tony ordered Chinese food." He answered honestly.

"Here, like this." She moved around the table and positioned them in his hand, hers over his showing him how to use them. When he was still having issues she sighed, pulling her hair down from its ponytail and using the band to wrap up the end of his sticks, "There, that should make it easier."

He tried it, "A lot easier. Thanks."

"Now tell me why you're here other than 'wanting to help' me." She scooped noodles into her mouth.

"That's why I'm here though." He blew on his food, "I mean I do want to know more about you though."

"Ask away." She said.

"Why'd you help Loki?" He asked, "Why didn't you try to get answers from me that day in the library? Why do you want to ask me all of these questions then never do?"

"That all of them?" She raised an eyebrow.

He chuckled, "For starters."

"I helped Loki because he said he would help me get revenge on the people who killed my brother. At the time he was my only option at getting close enough to S.H.I.E.L.D. in order to take them down. In the library I didn't know if you even remembered who you were and wanted to figure you out some before I told you everything." She pulled more noodles out, "And I'm scared that when you answer my questions, they won't be the answers I want."

"Wait." Steve looked at her, "Are you being honest right now?"

"What's the point in lying?" She looked at him as she blew on her food.

He was taken back by this, he'd gotten used to people in their line of work not being totally honest with him. Looking down at his food he asked, "Well, why don't you ask the questions, and if the answers aren't what you want, why don't we figure out a way to make them what you want?"

"What?" Raven was confused now.

"I came here to answer your questions, but I also said I wanted to help you." He told her, "I've talked to Tony and Bruce, they both have agreed to look at your files and see if they can help you."

"Why would they do that after what I did?" She leaned back in her chair, not believing one word of what he was saying.

"Because they believed in S.H.I.E.L.D. too. They believed the same lies I did, and they also let them have you." He told her. "So, ask what you want to ask, and then we'll make the answers what you want to hear."

"Okay," She still didn't trust him, but she saw no harm in doing this much, "What all did they do to you back in World War II?"

He answered the question, telling her everything that happened while they ate. She asked follow up questions and he answered them. When they were done, she had one last question to ask but they were interrupted from someone yelling from down below, "Raven!"

"Ne?" She yelled back looking over the railing. Steve sat there while they spoke to each other in Korean.

_"I have extra Soju. You want it?" _The woman down below asked.

"_Yes Ajumma, I'll take it." _She answered back then looked to Steve, "Be right back."

She went down the stairs and he looked over, watching as she and the older woman spoke. Raven bowed to the woman before coming back up to where he was. He looked at her, "Is the only reason you're in Korea because you speak the language?"

"No." She answered, "I like it here, the food, the culture, they've always been very welcoming every time I'm here. Plus, the music is good, and people tend to pay more attention to celebrity gossip than their neighbors' gossip."

"So, are you retired until you run out of medicine then?" He asked.

"I don't know." She answered back honestly again, cracking open a bottle of Soju before handing him one.

"You don't seem like the type to not think that far ahead." He took a sip then cringed at how strong it was.

She laughed at his reaction taking a swig of the liquid, "Yeah, it's not beer Captain. And short of getting away from S.H.I.E.L.D., I didn't really think of much the past two years." His face fell slightly, and she waved him off, "Come on, the mood was going so well, don't be a downer. The only reason I'm still here is because you didn't kill me when I asked you too."

"Raven." He sighed.

"Thanks for that." She took another sip looking out into the night, "Wouldn't have gotten to kill Peirce if you had."

"Well, I wasn't going to kill you either way." He told her.

She smirked, "Even if I had kept trying to kill you?"

"Especially then." He leaned back in the chair. "So, any more questions?"

"Just one." She told him, "Do you really think they can fix me?"

"I don't know. But if anyone can, it's those two." Steve gave her a small smile. "Come back with me, let them run tests."

"Sorry Captain, but I just got out. I can't chance going back in." She looked down at her half empty bottle, "As much as I might want a cure, it's not worth the risk of my freedom."

"Yeah I kinda figured you'd say that." He told her, reaching down for his backpack. "Good news is I'm kind of a freedom is kind of my thing, so we came up with a solution in the meantime until you trust us."

She watched as he pulled out a file and a small box, "What's in there?"

"A way to take your blood." He slid the file to her, "This is all the information Tony and Bruce have come with so far for you to look over. I'll take some blood back with me for them to study and when they come up with something then I'll be back. So, don't run off again."

"I won't for at least the next twelve weeks, that's how much longer my drawing course is." She reached across the table and took the box.

"What are you doing?" He asked.

"Getting you the blood." She opened it up taking the band from inside of it and wrapping it around her arm above her veins, "Don't worry, I've been poked with so many needles at this point I can do it in my sleep."

He watched her as she took the needle and slid it into her vein before hooking the blood tube to the end of it. The vial filled with her blood and when she was done, she pulled it out, removing the needle and put her thumb over the whole. He reached across the table to unhook the band and put the box back together. "You know, you said at one point you wanted to be like me. I think you were just as good if not better."

"What?" She looked at him confused.

"I read all of your files. You saved so many people from horrible things, you took out people that were hurting others. And then once you left S.H.I.E.L.D. you fought them, not even knowing how bad they were."

"I tried to help an alien take over the world." She laughed at him.

"Yeah, but you saved my life during it." He told her. "And in doing that, you saved a lot of other people too."

"Don't." She shook her head, "Don't patronize me."

"I'm not." He said, "I'm being honest with you. You would have made one hell of an ally back in the day."

"Yeah whatever." She looked away from him. "You have anything else to ask me or can I go to bed now?"

"No, I'll go." He told her as she finished her soju. "I'll see you soon with something."

"I won't hold my breath." She headed for her door.

* * *

**A/N: Hey guys don't forget to leave me a review so I know what you're thinking of the story! I like hearing what people think :)**


	5. Chapter 5

Steve got to Ravens apartment building and saw her motorcycle outside, so he knew she was there. Walking up the stairs he held tight to the case in his hand, a small smile on his face. As he approached the door he called out, "Raven, it's Steve."

There was no response. He called out again, thinking maybe she was in the bathroom or something and still there was nothing. Moving around the entrance he looked into one of the windows and saw her leg on the floor. His chest went tight and he broke the window, climbing through it, rushing to her. Her face was clammy, her lips pale, and eyes shut. Attempting to feel for a pulse he found nothing, so he put his head to her chest. It was feint but he heard a heartbeat. He held her face, "Raven, what happened? Raven!"

She didn't respond to him at all. He realized she must need her medicine. Getting up and searching the small apartment for it he heard thumping and looked back to see Raven convulsing on the ground, and he searched faster. Opening a drawer in the kitchen he saw a container with the S.H.I.E.L.D. logo on it and he yanked it out bringing it over to her. He prepped the medicine and hoped he was doing this right as he put his knees down on either side of her elbow, holding her arm still while he injected the medicine into her vein.

Once it was in her body stopped moving and he got off of her arm. He took her face again turning it to him and there was still no response from her. "Come on Raven, not today."

Lifting her to sit up in his arms he moved her mouth to his ear to see if she was even breathing at all. He could feel light breaths on his skin and kept muttering for her to wake up. At least she was alive, but he wasn't sure if he had done it right. Scooping her up off of the ground he, looked around and saw another door and opened it, revealing the bedroom. He went in, lying her down on top of covers of the bed and that's when he heard a slight mutter from her. "What?"

He saw her lips moving just barely enough to form words and he leaned down to her mouth again, "Ke…me…sittin…up."

"Keep you sitting up?" He asked and got a very small nod from her. Steve lifted her up, putting her back against the wall and he could see her breathing now and let out a sigh of relief.

Opening her eyes just enough she saw it was him, the voice had been a hint, but she wasn't sure given how out of it she was, "Thanks, Rogers."

"What happened?" He asked.

"Forgot to do my injection this morning." She told him. "Happens sometimes. Normally I'm not alone though."

"Will you stop being alone then?" He asked her, "You just scared the crap out of me. I thought you were dead."

"All your inspirational talk gone to waste, huh?" She managed a laugh.

"More like a good person." He looked at her.

Raven opened her eyes a bit more, "Were the boy scouts a thing in your time? Because I feel like you were a boy scout."

"I wasn't a boy scout." He couldn't help but smile.

"Yeah, you breaking into my apartment should have been a clue." She sighed, "So, what's the word on fixing me?"

"Oh, right." He got up and went back to where he had found her, picking up the container he had been carrying before. Siting on the bed next to her, he opened it to show a syringe with STARK on the side, "It's a gene therapy. It's just a pretreatment, but Tony and Bruce said that they should have something within the next few months to be able to make it to where you don't need the injections anymore. They won't be able to undo it though."

"And you're sure that they mean it? That they aren't just fooling you to take me in or something?" She asked him.

"Raven." He sighed.

"Look at it from my perspective." She looked at him, "Would you trust people you don't know with your life?"

He looked her in the eye, "Do you trust me?"

"Do you?" She asked.

"Yes. Yes, I do." He told her.

"So, you'd be perfectly comfortable with me standing behind you with a gun?" She raised an eyebrow.

"Go get a gun, I'll stand in front of you right now." He told her. Sliding his hand into hers he said, "Raven, even when you were being controlled by HYDRA, you didn't kill me. You fought it. You could have hit me with that knife and ended it right then and there and you know it. Heck, you could have even just shot me. But you didn't. You chose to go in, make yourself miss, because you knew that I would help you."

"So, you're saying I already trust you."

"I think you do. And I think that scares you." He said.

"Stop holding my hand. It's weird." She moved her arm slightly. "Look, I'll…I'll do it. But I'm not going back until they have it all figured out."

"And if they need you in order to figure it out?" He asked.

"Then I'll go, but Stark shouldn't need me, he already has my blood."

"Sounds like a deal then." He couldn't stop the small smile forming on his face.

* * *

Two months later she was back in New York. Raven didn't really feel comfortable in Stark Tower, or Avengers Tower, whatever they were calling it now. The last time she was there she got taken back to S.H.I.E.L.D. It was dark out and she sat in the kitchen area, away from the lab where Stark and Banner were working on their finishing touches. She was staring at her drink when there was a knock on the wall. Looking up she saw Steve smiling at her, "You almost ready?"

"More than I ever was before." She told him, "At least with this one I have warning."

"They never told you before they were going to do a procedure?" He walked over standing opposite from where she was sitting.

"No, I'd wake up and then it would be off to the lab to get injected with something new."

Steve hated what they had done to her. "What are you going to do? When this is done? Keep teaching drawing classes?"

"I don't know. I don't think I can figure that out until…well until it works."

"Help us finish taking down HYDRA." He almost blurted out. It had been something he'd wanted to ask her to do for a while, but he knew that it wasn't something easy to ask a person, especially someone who had been through what she had.

"I worked for HYRDA." She told him.

"But you didn't know." He replied, "You couldn't control yourself. Now you can. And you've gotten really good at it, you haven't tried to kill me once since you've been here."

"That you know of." She smirked and he couldn't help but laugh.

"Finish avenging your brother." He said.

"Then what? Become an Avenger?" She almost busted out laughing.

"Why's that so funny?" He asked.

She looked at him like he was insane, "I helped Loki."

"Because you didn't have a choice." He looked at her, "Now you do."

"Knock knock." Tony came in. "Hope I'm not interrupting science experiment bonding time, but we're ready."

Steve looked to Tony, giving him an unamused face but when he looked back to Raven, he saw her swallow hard. "You ready?"

"Yeah." She stood up and followed Stark out of the room, Steve behind her.

"We aren't going to be able to make you normal again, but we should be able to complete the process they started." Banner said as she entered the room.

"Not that I can understand why you would want to be a normal human again with how much it sucks." Tony said, "But we know you won't end up like Jolly Green over here at least."

"That's reassuring." She looked at the metal container that she was going to be standing in soon.

"It's…it's going to hurt." Steve told her.

"I know." Raven replied, "So even if I scream, don't stop."

Walking up to the container she stepped inside of it, turning to look back at the three of them. Steve put his hand on the door, "You know, the night before I had my procedure done…Erskine told me that the serum amplifies everything that's inside, so good becomes great; bad becomes worse. The fact that you aren't red means that whatever choice you make when you walk out of this, will be a good one."

"I appreciate the pep talk, Cap, but just shut the door. I can't make a choice if I'm dead." She gave him a smile.

"Good thing you aren't going to die." He smiled back before shutting the door.

Raven took a deep breath before she felt the chamber get warm. Soon it was painful, as if all the muscles in her body were being ripped to shreds, lit on fire, then stitched back together. The searing pain only got worse, burning, stinging, ripping her apart until finally the pain began to go away and her body replaced it with soreness, and a throbbing in her head. The chamber went back to normal and the door slid open. She went to take a step forward, but her legs gave out and she was caught by Steve. She spoke as loud as she could, her hand on her head, "Get away."

"What?" He asked.

"Get away!" She yelled, a voice in her mind echoing _kill Steve Rogers. _Her skin burned as she fought it.

Steve backed away slowly, "Stark what's happening to her?"

"I don't know, the read outs were completely normal." He answered back looking at the screens.

"Get out. ALL OF YOU!" She felt like she was about to explode from fighting the order to kill him.

They all watched as her hair began to glow red, her eyes taking the color of flames. Her body soon followed, and she grunted in pain as she held her head, her clothes starting to smoke from the heat.

"Raven, fight it!" Steve yelled over her cries, "It's not you!"

_KILL STEVE ROGERS_

"No!" She screamed at herself. The red began to turn white. She gritted her teeth together, "I. Will. Not. Kill. Him."

"That's it!" He yelled.

She gripped her hands tight to her head, "GET OUT OF MY HEAD YOU ASSHOLE!"

Heat blasted off of her, billowing through the room. The three men dove for cover as parts of the room were singed from the fire. As soon as it passed, Steve ran to her, the girl still on her knees and he caught her before she fell, "Raven?"

"If good becomes great, and bad becomes worse," She muttered into his shoulder before looking up at him, "Then I guess what's just okay, becomes good?"

"You're more than okay." He smiled, "How do you feel?"

"Warm…and like I need to change clothes." She told him.

He looked down and noticed that her sports bra and shorts had parts missing and immediate removed his eyes from the area. Banner came over with a lab coat, "Here."

"Thank you." She took it from him and covered herself as Steve let her go.

"Well, I'd say we definitely got an improvement." Tony looked around at the three of them, "You're going to use those new powers to help us, right?"

"HYDRA burned my brother." She looked back at him, "I'm going to burn them back."


	6. Chapter 6

Steve knocked on the door to the room they'd given Raven for when they were all at the tower. He saw her packing, "We just got back and you're already leaving?"

"Yup." She threw her shirt into the bag.

"You got plans or something?"

She looked at him, "Oh, yeah, hot date tonight."

"Really?" He questioned.

"No." She gently laughed at him.

He walked into the room, his hands in his pockets, "Then why don't you stay?"

"Steve." She sighed looking at him.

"Come on. Stay tonight, you've made me dinner, let me make you dinner." He offered.

"So, you're trying to make it to where I do have a hot date tonight?" She teased.

"Just trying to make it to where you feel welcome here." He told her.

"Am I?" She asked.

He nodded, "More than you think. Romanoff actually really likes you. Barton said it's nice to have you back on our side."

"Thor?" She asked.

"Thors still getting used to it but he likes your fighting style. Says your useful."

"You?"

He smiled at her, "When I said you'd have made a great ally back in the day, I wasn't wrong. You make one now too. And a good friend."

"I don't really have friends." She told him.

"You do now." He turned leaving the room, "Come on, I'm making you dinner."

"Looks like I don't have a choice." Raven muttered.

"You always have a choice. You'd just make me feel bad if you chose the other option." He looked back at her.

"Of all the things I've survived, I don't think Captain America's guilt trip would be one of them." She sighed following him out of the room.

They sat eating spaghetti, the only thing Steve knew how to cook really well at that point, and he tried to make small talk, "Notice the scar on your leg is fading."

"Huh?" She looked and saw that the mark Loki had left on her was barely even visible now, "Wasn't a scar."

"What was it?" He asked.

"A brand…sort of?" She told him. "Loki gave it to me."

"Loki? Why?"

She twirled her noodles, "He wanted to make sure that if S.H.I.E.L.D. ever captured me that I would remember who I really belonged to was."

"Belonged to?" He raised an eyebrow.

"That's how things worked with Loki, and I was fine with it back then." She shrugged.

"So, you wouldn't do that now?" He asked.

"Wouldn't need to. Peirce is dead."

Steve went to take another bite then stopped, "Wait does that mean you and Loki were…"

"Having sex? Yeah." Raven didn't even hesitate to answer.

"Oh. Okay." He looked back at his food.

"We were both outcasts. All we had was each other. Please don't get weird about it."

"Weird. No, why-why would I get weird?" He asked her.

"Because you are right now." She replied.

He looked up and found her grey eyes looking back at him, "Were there feelings?"

"It was…complicated. We related to each other. At one point all we had…was each other." She was still being honest, "But then he left me. With S.H.I.E.L.D., so if there were feelings, I don't remember them."

He nodded, "Right."

"What about you?" She asked, "You've been out of the ice for about three years. Why are you in here on a Saturday night?"

"First Romanoff and now you?" He smirked.

"Come on, you were from the forties, don't tell me you didn't already have some pent-up frustration when you went in the ice." She then grinned, "Or is that your secret? Keep it all inside to always have some stamina left?"

"I'm not having this conversation over spaghetti." He looked at her.

"Oh, we're already having it. I can grab some ineffective beers to go with it if you want." She kept her grin.

"Might need something stronger." He muttered moving his noodles around with a small smile still on his face but his cheeks turning pink.

"Okay so if you haven't _belonged_ to anyone since you've woken up…when you get there, do her a favor and google some things." She told him.

"Like what?" He looked up his face getting redder.

She busted out laughing, "You're amazing. Do you know that?"

"What are you talking about?"

"You really are a man out of time." She controlled her laughter, "Just make sure you use the incognito tab on your google so that way Stark can't see what you're looking up."

"What kind of things would I be looking up?" He tried not to get flustered.

"Just…stuff." She got up to get them beers, "Things that women, or men, I don't judge, like."

"What…what kind of stuff?" He asked.

"Now _this_ conversation isn't one I'm having." She came back and gave him a bottle, "Unless we have something _a lot_ stronger than beer.

* * *

"Strucker, yeah I know this guy." Raven said as Natasha informed them of the latest, and one of the last HYDRA bases out there. "He did a few tests on me about a year or so before I left."

"Ready to get him back for it?" Barton asked.

"Hmm…I have to think about that." She fake thought and Steve couldn't help but smile at how comfortable she was around everyone now, "Um, yes."

"Good. Because this place is big and we're going to need the fire power." Tony said, "Jet's fueled up, let's get suited up."

Everyone left to go finish what they needed to get ready. Raven changed into her fireproof suit that Tony had made her, red with accents of white on it covering her up to her neck, before grabbing her two blades, that Tony had also made her for when they were in close combat. She hooked them to the sides of her suit and walked out, joining Steve as he left his room, and they walked back to where the jet was.

"So, this place should have Loki's scepter in it." He said grabbing his shield.

"Yeah." She replied.

"Could also be the last of the HYRDA outposts." He continued.

"Yup."

"What are you going to do once it's done?"

She thought about it, "I don't know. But I think I have options."

"Yeah, you do." He smiled down at her.

"Alright, everyone in? Seat belts on?" Tony asked as the back of the jet started to close.

"Yes dad." Nat replied to him.

"Sokovia here we come." Tony lifted the jet up.

They decided the element of surprise was the best option for them and when they landed far off in the forest Steve backed his bike out. Natasha and Clint were getting their jeep prepped and Raven was checking the map with Tony, trying to determine where they thought the scepter would be. Steve watched her as they zoomed through the 3D schematic and couldn't help the small upturn in his lips.

"You stare any harder and you might go blind." Nat whispered in his ear.

"I wasn't-" He turned back at her.

"Makes sense." She shrugged, "You both went through similar things, you said it was hard to find someone with shared life experience…well now you have."

"It's not like that." He shook his head at her.

"If you say so." She turned away, "Hey Raven!"

"Yeah?" Raven called back.

"Think you could ride on the back with Rogers? He can get you in and out of tighter spots than we can." Nat suggested.

"Sounds good." Raven smiled and then looked to Steve who looked away from her as he got on top of the bike.

Raven and Tony put away the schematic and she went over to him. Getting on the back of the bike she asked, "You good?"

"Yeah." He answered to quickly, "Yeah, why wouldn't I be?"

"No reason, just wondering." She climbed on behind him, her hands on his waist. Shifting slightly as she got her weight center, she leaned down and grabbed his shield, handing it to him to put on the front of the bike until it was needed.

"Ready?" He looked over his shoulder.

"Yeah."

And then they were racing off towards Struckers bunker. Patrols on the way were there resistance, but they cut through them easily. Raven shot fire at them and the ones that were to far away for her, Steve launched his shield at. As the men fired back, he had to dodge the shots to avoid them getting hit.

Raven noticed that he wasn't in a spot to grab his shield anymore, so she reached out, standing on the back of the bike, grabbing the handle of it. She put it in front of him, "Found this for you."

"Thanks." He said back concentrating.

"Loki's scepter must be here. Strucker couldn't mount this defense without it." Thor said as they fought. "At long last."

"At long last is lasting a little long, boys." Natasha said.

"Yeah, I think we lost the element of surprise." Clint followed up.

Raven sent streams of fire from her hands, "I don't know, I think we're keeping them on their toes at least."

"Wait is no one else is going to deal with the fact that Cap just said 'language'?" Tony butted back in.

"I know." Steve grumbled then motioned for Raven to get off the bike. As she stood, he did too and she jumped over him as he flipped off of the bike sending it flying into a car coming towards them, "It just slipped out."

"Shocking considering the military experience really." Raven smirked at him.

Another wave came at them and she pulled out her blades, her fire lacing through them and the two of them fought back to back. Just as they finished something came by, hitting Steve causing him to flip over. "We have an enhanced in the field."

"Looks like Strucker didn't stop with just me." She said.

"Clint's hit. Raven, we could use a cauterization, and can someone take care of that bunker?!" Natasha said.

"On my way." She said as the Hulk ran busting through the people that were firing on Nat. When she reached the two of them, she knelt down next to Clint, "Hey there buddy, how ya doing?"

"Oh, ya know." He muttered back.

"Ah, it's just a scratch." She looked at his side, before putting her hand over it, "It's just gunna feel like a warm tingle."

"Are you lying to me?" He looked at her.

"Oh yeah." She told him, heating her hand and he let out a scream as she burned the wound shut. Clint passed out from the pain and she looked at Nat, "He's still going to need an evac."

"Alright." She said.

* * *

**A/N: Don't forget to let me know what you guys think! :)**


	7. Chapter 7

Raven sat on the couch looking at the screen in her hands. She heard Tony coming down the stairs, "How is he?"

"He's still Barton." Tony answered.

"How will he ever survive?" She replied still focused on what she was reading.

Steve came up behind her, "Reading up on the Maximoffs?"

"Yeah." She looked up at him over her shoulder. He had a small smile on his face as he leaned on the back of the couch. "I'm trying to see if I can figure out what all was done to them. The amount of people Strucker tested on…I thought it had stopped with my team."

"It's not your fault." He told her.

"No, but you keep apologizing to me for what they did to me so…" She gave him a smile back, "Only fair that I feel bad about what happened to them."

"Weird that you feel bad at all." Tony butted back in.

"Stop." Steve looked up at him and Tony just waved him off with a smile.

"You were wondering what came next for me." She held up the screen, "This is it. I'm going to find the two of them and let them know that just because the people that made them, we're pieces of shit, doesn't mean anything about them." She paused then held back a smile, "Sorry, I know you don't like that kind of language."

"Seriously? You too now?" He laughed.

"Oh yeah." She nodded. Standing up she went over to the bar and got a drink, "I'll do my best to watch my mouth from now on."

* * *

"Sounds like a hell of a fight, sorry I missed it." Sam walked next to Steve as they started heading up the stairs.

"If I had known it was going to be a fire fight, I absolutely would have called."

"No, no, I'm not actually sorry." Sam joked, "I'm just trying to sound tough. I'm very happy chasing cold leads on our missing persons case. Avenging is your world." He looked out over the party. Watching as Steve's eyes searched the room, he followed the mans gaze as it landed on the figure wearing a dark red dress, her brown locks flowing down her back. Raven was standing by herself in a corner sipping on a drink, "Speaking of, how are things with the no longer missing person?"

"Good, she's a part of the team now. Wants to go after the missing twins to try and help them." Steve answered him, eyes lingering on her.

"That all?" Sam watched him with a smirk.

Steve looked at him, "What do you mean?"

"Oh, nothing." He put his hands up.

Looking back at Raven, he said, "I'm going to see if she's alright." As he walked away, he pointed at his friend, "Don't read into it."

"Whatever you say man." Sam smiled into his drink.

Steve made his way over to where she was standing looking out at the city lights. "Hey."

"Hey." She smiled. Looking at him she realized how much she hated it when he wore blue, it was bad enough in his uniform, but the color always made his eyes seem to glow.

"You know there's a party going on, right?" He motioned to everyone in the room.

"Yeah, it's…it's just a little weird for me. Being around this many people." She told him.

He nodded, "I understand that."

"No, you don't." She looked down at her drink. He gave her a confused look and she let out a nervous laugh, "Sorry, I didn't mean for it to come off that way."

"You're fine. What's going on?" He asked.

"These people…they should be scared of me." She told him, "I was made to do horrible things, I've done horrible things."

"Yeah, you have. But you didn't want to do most of them, you didn't know the rest were bad until much later. It was the same for Natasha and people aren't scared of her." Steve leaned on the banister and looked at her, "You belong here. With us."

"Are you lying to me?" She asked him, her eyes narrowing, a smile tugging on her lips.

"What's the point in lying?" He smiled then motioned his head towards the party, "Come on. Stick with me and you'll be fine."

"If you say so." She turned following him down the stairs.

She was fine for the rest of the night, drinking with him and Thor, talking with Sam about how Steve couldn't afford a place in Brooklyn. Eventually she got to talking to Doctor Cho, both of them speaking in Korean about the latest things happening in Seoul and the doctor wanting to run tests on her. People started to leave and the few that were left were sitting around the table in the main room. She had her legs tucked up under her, leaning slightly towards who Steve was leaned back on the couch.

They laughed about picking Thors hammer as Steve passed her the flask with the Asgardian liquor in it and she took a swig handing it back to him. She smirked as Clint couldn't lift it and laughed when Tony went to get an iron glove to try and get it off the table. Her eyes flickered to Steve as he grinned at Tony and Rhodey trying to work together.

After Banner went Thor looked to Steve and he looked around at the others and then to Raven and she motioned towards it, "Show us all that valor and justice you've kept pent up."

He laughed as he got up and tried to lift it but after a second try gave up.

"Widow?" Banner asked as everyone looked at her.

"Oh, no no, that's not a question I need answered." Natasha smiled then looked to Raven, "Do you?"

"Oh no." She drew out the last word, "I touch that thing and it's dropping to the center of the Earth."

"You're not that bad." Clint waved her off.

Raven scrunched her brow at him, "What are we doing the whole 'Every saint has a past' deal on this one? Because either way, it's not gunna happen."

They all laughed as Clint and Tony said it was rigged. Thor got up and gave them the easy answer that none of them were worthy. Everyone booed him before a loud screech entered the room. They all turned and looked at a torn-up Iron Legion suit walking into the room. The machine muttered, "Wooorrrrtthhhhyyyyy…No. How could you be worthy? You're all killers."

"Stark?" Steve asked as Ravens face went pale at the statement.

Tony tried to contact JARVIS but to no avail. The suit went on to say it had been asleep or having a dream. Tony tried to contact the Legionnaire OS but it failed again. It said that it killed someone, a nice guy and they all wondered who since they were the only ones there and it explained that it was made to be 'A suit of armor around the world' using Tonys voice. Bruce said realizing, "Ultron."

"In the flesh. Or, no, not yet. Not this...chrysalis. But I'm ready. I'm on a mission." The machine said.

"What mission?" Natasha asked.

"Peace in our time." Iron Legion suits bust out of the walls attacking them.

Steve kicked up a table in front of them and they were both knocked over as a suit ran into it. As they flew to the ground Steve grabbed her and landed on his back, keeping her from hitting the ground. She recovered and began shooting fire at suits trying to take them out but she had to hit them each in more than one spot as they were made for situations like this and she looked up seeing one grab something from the lab, "It has the scepter!"

They all confirmed they'd heard her, and she watched as Thor ripped the top off one of the suits and threw it down, but it got back up and approached Dr. Cho. Sliding over she grabbed Steve's shield slung it at him, knocking it down as she caught the shield again. The woman looked at her, "Thanks."

"No problem." She said knocking another one down with a blast of fire. She yelled out, "Steve!"

He turned grabbing the shield as it was thrown at him and he took down the last one and Ultron started again.

"That was dramatic! I'm sorry, I know you mean well. You just didn't think it through. You want to protect the world, but you don't want it to change. How is humanity saved if it's not allowed to...evolve?" Ultron picked up one of the fallen Legion Suits, "With these? These puppets? There's only one path to peace: The Avengers' extinction."

Thor threw his hammer shattering the machine which slowly died.

* * *

They regrouped, tried to figure out what exactly had happened, Natasha told them, "He's been in everything. Files, surveillance. Probably knows more about us than we know about each other."

"He's in your files, he's in the internet. What if he decides to access something a little more exciting?" Rhodey rhetorically asked.

"Nuclear codes." Maria realized.

Rhodey confirmed this and Natasha looked around, "Nuclear codes? He said he wanted us dead."

"He didn't say dead. He said extinct." Steve replied.

"He said he'd already killed someone." Clint remembered and they all said that no one else had been there. Stark showed them JARVIS had been killed, the one line of defense against him. Thor grabbed him upset and an argument ensued.

Thor yelled, "This could've been avoided if you hadn't played with something you don't understand."

"No, I'm sorry. I'm sorry. It is funny. It's a hoot that you don't get why we need this." Tony laughed looking around.

"You know the last time man tried to make the next step in evolution he made me, and I tried to help take over the world." She looked at him, "Maybe it wasn't the best idea to go about it this way. Creating a thing that now wants to kill us."

"But we didn't, we weren't even close." Tony looked at Banner for help, "Were we close to an interface?"

"Well, you did something right. And you did it right here." Steve put a hand on Ravens shoulder, "The Avengers were supposed to be different than S.H.I.E.L.D."

"A hostile alien army came charging through a hole in space. I'm not even going to mention the fact that she helped." Tony motioned to Raven.

"Leave her out of this." Steve stepped forward.

"Steve, it's fine." She shook her head and he turned back to look at her, seeing her eyes lowered away from the others.

"We're standing three hundred feet below it. We're the Avengers. We can bust arms dealers all the live long day, but, that up there? That's...that's the end game. How were you guys planning on beating that?" Tony asked everyone.

"Together." Steve answered.

"We'll lose." Tony looked at him.

"Then we'll do that together too." Steve replied a disappointed tone in his voice.

* * *

**A/N: Don't forget to let me know what you guys think! :)**


	8. Chapter 8

"Hey, you alright?" Steve asked walking up to her in the kitchen.

"Yeah." She bit into her sandwich.

"Tony was out of li-"

"No, he wasn't." She smiled at him softly, "I honestly expected more of it, less joking than it normally is."

"Still doesn't make it right."

Raven smiled, "It is what it is Steve, it's fine. I'm an adult, I can handle it."

He nodded, "The twins are with Ultron."

"Well then I guess what I planned to do after just went up in flames." She said, "Because I'm about to kill two birds with one stone."

"They're going to go to Africa." They started walking out of the room.

"Then so are we." She went to get her suit.

They flew to Africa and she boarded the ship with Thor, Tony, and Steve. Her main goal was the twins, the rest of them would focus on Ultron. When they found him, all three of them were together. Pietro asked Tony if it felt like old times. Steve stepped forward, "You two can still walk away from this."

"Oh, we will." Wanda said.

"Not in the way you think." Raven said to the girl who looked at her, amused.

"We know you've suffered-" Steve started but Ultron stopped him.

"Ugh, Captain America. God's righteous man. Pretending you could live without war." Ultron looked at him and she felt Steve stiffen, "I can't physically throw up in my mouth but-"

"What no insults for me?" She asked, "Tony made you, so I really expected some good ones."

"You're intriguing, much like these two." Ultron motioned to the twins, "Jaded, betrayed, left alone to be tortured by those who claim to be on the right side. They might have taken that behavioral chip out of you, but you still take orders like a trained dog, just like you always have from whatever master you serve."

Her body began to glow at his words. She wasn't a trained dog, she never was. Tony cut in before she could do anything, "What's the vibranium for?"

"I'm glad you asked that because I wanted to take this time to explain my evil plan." Ultron said before pulling Tony forward then sending him back with a blast from his fingers.

Other bots came in and their fight started. Raven focused on trying to get to the twins, maybe if she could talk to one of them, then she could get them to stop. She made her way around and Thor warned about the girl trying to warp their minds. After a few more Ultrons she turned and saw Wanda in front of her. She had red wisps coming from her fingers and when they moved around Ravens head, they did nothing. Wanda's eyes grew wide, "How-"

"You aren't the only ones HYDRA experimented on." She told the girl, "I can help you. I know it feels like this is the right thing, like this is what you're supposed to do, but it's not. I don't want you to make the same mistakes I did. I don't want you to regret anything."

"We won't." Pietro said as he sped up next to his sister before grabbing her and whisking her away.

When the last of the guards were taken care of, she heard Clint, "Whoever's left standing, we've gotta move."

"I think it's just me." Raven said walking around the rails looking for the others. Seeing Steve on a lower level she jumped down, going in front of him, "Steve!"

He was staggering along, and she heard the voice in her head. _KILL HIM NOW._

He was walking through a victory party. Every time a flash went off, he jumped, it reminding him of an explosion. People were laughing and happy, but the playful shoves and spilt wine just looked like parts of a battle to him. He felt a touch on his shoulder, Peggy standing there asking if he was ready for their dance. He looked at her confused, unsure as to why she was there. She told him the war was over, "We can go home. Imagine it." The room went empty, but he heard something.

_Steve! Steve wake up!_

"Come on Steve! What the hell do I have to do?" Raven helped him to his knees, taking his face in her hands. She looked into his eyes as his blank ones searched her face. Sighing she muttered, "Well, it works in some movies, doesn't it?"

Pressing her lips to his she held him there for a moment and when she pulled away, she saw him blink and she let out a laugh, wrapping her arms around him. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah." He muttered, wrapping his arms back around her, "Yeah, I'm okay."

"Okay, you stay here, I'm going to find Thor, I think I might be the only one able to carry him right now." She stood up, pausing for a second to make sure he was steady, and he gave her a nod that he was fine.

Watching her jump up a floor he wondered if he'd kissed her in the vision, or if she'd kissed him to get him out of it.

* * *

Steve watched as Tony walked towards the barn and then looked over to see Raven sitting in the grass out in the field. No one had said anything on the ride to Bartons, he didn't even know if she was okay.

She heard his footsteps on the ground as he came up, "You know, I've spent my whole life in cities, surrounded by technology and the best things money could buy. I never knew that nature could be so…relaxing."

"How are you doing?" He asked, sitting down next to her.

"I'm fine." She looked at him, eyes squinted from the sun.

"The girl…did she?"

She shook her head, "No. She wasn't able to."

"Why?" He asked.

"Maybe…maybe because of what HYDRA did to me I'm immune to her tricks, or maybe I had nothing to see." She pulled at some grass, "Or maybe I've already seen it. Who knows? What about you? How are you doing?"

He nodded, "I'm alright."

"Nat seemed pretty shaken. Thor left. You don't have to be strong in front of me, Steve." She nudged him with her shoulder, "We're built out of almost the same thing."

He laughed, "I know. It just…it was more confusing than anything."

"Sounds like the same reason Thor left to be honest." She smirked.

"It was the end of the war. My war." He told her, "My original one. Maybe Ultron was right about me."

"Does that mean he was right about me too then?" She asked him.

"What?" He looked at her, "Raven, no, of course not. You don't take orders form us, you make your own decisions now."

"I know." A soft smile formed on her face, "Then he wasn't right about you either." She turned to face him, crossing her legs. "What did you want back then? Before the war started? What was your goal?"

"I don't know." He looked at his legs, "Have a family I guess."

"Well, then, once the war is over, maybe you can go back to that goal?" She suggested.

Steve looked at her now, "Will the war ever be over?"

"The war ended for the soldiers in World War II. It ended for the soldiers in Korea and Vietnam. Every war ends, even if another one starts eventually." She put her hand on his arm, "You don't have to fight all of them Steve."

They sat there for a moment, just looking at each other. Steve's mind went back to the boat, the kiss. He still wasn't good at this seventy years later. "About what happened…back there, when I was in the dream-"

"Oh, that." She looked away from him, fingers fidgeting around each other, "Sorry about that. I-uh- I just didn't know what else to do at the time. Lucky Thor was coming out of it when I found him, so it didn't lead to a super awkward moment."

A forced laugh came out of him, "Yeah. Yeah, no that would have been weird."

"Yeah, really weird." She said before they got distracted by Tony calling them, Fury walking behind him.

* * *

They were running onto the road after Clint saw the truck leaving and Steve looked over at it coming towards them below, "You ready?"

"I've done crazier." She shrugged backing up with him and they both ran and leapt off, landing on top of the truck. They rolled on it, going to the edge and climbed down the doors. The door Steve was on blasted open and he swung around on it and she yelled out his name before seeing him swing back. They didn't have a moment before the doors blasted open. She was still holding the top of the truck so the door just slid down her body, maybe leaving a bruise, she doubted it would last long with how quickly she regenerated.

"Well he's definitely unhappy." Steve said.

"Wonder what gave you that idea?" She asked climbing back on top of the truck.

"Don't know, but let's keep him that way."

"You two aren't a match for him." Clint said.

"Thanks Barton." Steve muttered.

"Oh, ye of little faith, I'm a saint remember? We still don't know what all I'm capable of." She smirked before Ultron blasted Steve back onto a car windshield. She swung into the truck, kicking him back onto the cradle and he blasted a beam at her, but it did nothing, her body just absorbing the heat. "Guess you didn't read about my upgrades well enough."

Ultron let out an angry yell and attempted to fly at her, but she dodged underneath him and sent a heat blast knocking him completely out of the truck right before she heard a landing on the roof. Turning she looked at the other bodies in the truck and whipped out her blades, knowing better than to use blasts towards the cradle just in case. Raven fought the robots, absorbing their blasts and cutting them apart.

"How are you doing in there?" Steve grunted.

"Pretty good, you?" She asked.

"Could…use some help." He managed to get out and she headed to the end of the truck and jumped up to the top as Steve was thrown off of it.

She put her blades back and started shooting fire streams at Ultron, his matching hers, canceling each other out. He came up to punch her and she heated her skin, trying to melt his metal as she blocked his hits and got some of her own in. When Steve made it back, they double teamed him. As Steve knocked him away Ultron flew back at them and he grabbed the machine, tossing it away as she pushed it further with her flames. Ultron flew back at them with a vengeance, an arm on both of them as he knocked them from a truck and to the train going along the tracks next to them.

"I'm going in, you two think you can keep him occupied?" Nat asked.

"Yeah, sure, we'll amp it up to one hundred percent now." Raven breathed out.

"What does she think we've been doing?" Steve stood up using his shield to block them from one of Ultrons blasts.

She pulled her blades back out, not wanting to possibly hurt any civilians and they kept fighting him until Ultron was knocked back by Pietro. Raven couldn't help the smirk at the two of them being there. Ultron went to hit the boy, but he dodged it and the machine ended up knocking out the front end of the train. She ran to the front of the train with Steve and he looked from her to the ending track, "Can you stop it?"

"I can read Korean, that doesn't mean I know how to stop a train just because the buttons are in Korean." She yelled over the noise of the alarm. He began telling the twins what to do and Raven looked for anything that might help with emergency brakes despite there being no track anymore. A brick wall was coming fast, "Steve!"

He pulled her back and moved the shield in front of them keeping any debris from hitting them. A cannister came flying at them, hitting the shield and knocking him back through the train and she was knocked to the ground. She felt the train screech to a halt finally and pushed herself up off the ground as Steve was standing too, "You alright?"

"Yeah, I'm good." She took a breath then looked out the door at the twins. Walking out she looked at them, "Thanks for the help. Why'd you help?"

"Did you get the cradle?" Wanda asked.

"Stark'll take care of it." Steve told her.

"No, he won't." The girl's eyes went wide.

"You don't know what you're talking about, Stark's not crazy." Steve continued.

"He will do anything to make things right." Wanda said. Steve and Raven shared an unsure look and she continued, "Ultron can't tell the difference between saving the world and ending it. Where do you think he gets that from?"

"Come on." Raven said, "We need to get back to the lab."

"How do we do that? We just sent Barton back with the jet?" Steve looked at her.

"Easy, we go back to Dr. Cho." She shrugged, "She has a jet, so I just have to make a deal."

"What kind of deal?" He asked as the four of them started walking.

"She's been dying to run some tests on us. See why I'm a little bit better and a little more fireproof than you." She told him, "So technically we'd be making a deal."

"Good with me." He said as they walked.

* * *

**A/N: I know it probably feels like it's going kind of fast, but I felt like I didn't have to write every part of the films to make it move along naturally. If I'm wrong leave me a review and let me know! :)**


	9. Chapter 9

As Steve flew the jet Wanda walked over to Raven, "You said you didn't want us to make the same mistakes as you…what mistakes have you made?"

"You hear about New York a few years back?" She asked the girl who nodded, her brother joining her. Steve listened in to what was being said, not hard to do in the small plane, "That was me…or well done with my help."

"Why? What happened?" Pietro asked.

"I thought I didn't have another way. I thought that to get what I wanted I had no other choice but to work with Loki. I helped him start an alien invasion on our planet. Because what did I have to lose at that point? I only had something to gain and that was the end of S.H.I.E.L.D." She told them. Her eyes flickered to the pilot for a moment, "But you always have options. I'll never not be the person that helped start the attack on New York. Not be the person that helped Loki try and take over the world. I'll always be that person, but I can be more now. I didn't want you two to learn the way that I did. To have the regret always follow you, wonder if the people around you see that when they look at you. All because of hate that was caused by some other asshole."

"So. you're saying that there can be a future for us…as long as we don't let our hate consume us." Wanda said.

"Yeah. You can do whatever you want." Raven told them a small smile on her face, "Hell the second time I got away from HYDRA, I picked up a job as a drawing teacher before this guy found me."

She stayed, talking to the twins about what happened to them and what happened to her and how they could get past it. When they got back to the lab, Tony and Banner were uploading something into the cradle. Words were exchanged between the two sides before Pietro went around unhooking all the power to the cradle, then a fight broke out. Tony hit Steve with a blast and Raven went white hot, yelling, "STOP!"

Everyone froze at the heat her body was containing. Tony held a hand up, "Okay, alright, Raven, let's cool it down a little."

"After what happened before how do you know you're not making something worse and stronger than Ultron?" Raven told him before looking down at Pietro, "And how the hell did you know what you did couldn't cause the stone to blow and kill us all?!"

They all thought about what she asked, and Steve stood up, putting his hand out to her, "Raven, just calm down, we don't know what would happen with the stone if you detonate."

"That's why I wouldn't." She looked at him, her eyes all white then going back to their normal color. "But at least you all stopped throwing shit and blasting things around the cradle."

"Yeah, well, if Mr. Goody-Two-Shoes hadn't of-" Tony started but was cut off by Thor coming into the room and hitting the cradle with his lightening.

They all watched as he overloaded the power, causing the top to bust open, a body coming out of it. No one moved. It went towards Thor who threw it away from him and towards the window. Raven stayed where she was, watching it as Steve jumped down ready to defend before Thor put his hand up. The thing turned and came back down slowly as they began making their way down the stairs to where it was. He apologized and Thor explained his vision and why he did what he did. Steve questioned who or rather what it was, and it told them that it wasn't Ultron, or Jarvis, but something different.

After some debating and the being saying it was on the side of life, plus it picking up Thors hammer, they all got prepped and left. Their first and main goal was getting the people of Sokovia out of the way. She worked on a bridge helping direct traffic to people getting out. It wasn't long though before other Ultron bots were coming up from under the ground and the fight started. Raven began defending people from the machines and she saw Pietro running through a large group of them and she yelled out, "Hey, I can handle this, you do that while helping get people out of here!"

"Got it." He said and she began lighting up the big groups that were away from civilians.

She kept destroying them and they kept on coming. The ground beneath her feet started to shake. Looking around she saw the other parts of the city getting lower than the part she was on, "Uh, guys, is what's happening what I think is happening?"

"Yeah, yeah it is." Barton replied.

"Cool, just wanted to make sure." She kept on fighting through Ultrons speech. After a little while she heard Tony.

"Cap, you've got incoming."

"Incoming already came." Steve grunted.

"You're not getting tired, already are you?" Raven joked at his tone.

"Cute." Steve said before giving the orders, "Stark, you worry about bringing the city back down safely. The rest of us have one job, tear these things apart. You get hurt, hurt 'em back. You get killed, walk it off."

"You're not the boss of me." Raven told him and he could hear the smirk in her voice.

"Oh yeah, what are you going to do if you get killed then?" Steve punched a bot and turned to see a line running at him, only to see them start melting, Raven standing behind them.

"I'm going to get Hulk level pissed off." She smiled before returning to the fight.

"You know Raven, I really missed this about you. You always knew how to ease the tension with your jokes." Barton said.

"Yeah, well, now that I know you're a dad," She released a blast of heat from her body, melting the bots around her, "I don't know if they're actually funny or not."

None of them got a break, not even a moment to breathe. Raven couldn't help but wonder how many of these damn things he made. She let out an angry yell, her body glowing in all white as she sent out a stream of fire, circling around, destroying the machines swarming her from above.

"We're all clear here." Barton said.

"Yeah," She caught her breath, "Me too."

"We are not clear. We are very not clear." She heard Steve.

"Alright, we're coming to you." Barton said.

She had gotten to the other side of the city and by the time she made it to them Stark was telling them that the only plan he had so far was to blow the city with all of them on it. Then Fury came over the radio and it was the only time she'd ever been glad to hear his voice. By the time she made it to Steve the lifeboats were arriving, and he looked at her, "What took you so long?"

"Big city, bright lights, got distracted." She smirked, "You get the civilians on the boats, I've got you covered."

"Light 'em up." He smiled.

"That's the plan." She turned back to the bots coming at them again and went back to white, streaming flames at them. They got the call that it was time to get back to the core and her and Steve were off, running full speed to the church. Ultron showed with all of his bots and the fight resumed. She had a blade in one hand for those that got close and her other hand open for those that were far away.

Once the main horde was taken care of Steve looked around, "Alright, it's time to move out, even I can tell the air is getting thin. You guys get to the boats. I'll sweep for stragglers, be right behind you."

"What about the core?" Barton asked.

"Airs not that thin for me yet." Raven told them.

"I'll stay with her." Wanda said, "It's my job."

The others nodded and were off. Raven couldn't help the smile between the twin's banter before Pietro left. Wanda looked at her, "I'm ready to be more."

"You already are." She told the girl and they were back at destroying Ultrons that came for the core.

After a few minutes she heard Steve, "You guys need to start getting here."

"They're still trying to get at it." She told him.

"If you don't get on a boat you're not getting off." He replied.

"I'll figure it out." She said, "I always do."

"Raven." He said, concern in his voice.

"Don't worry. Get your ass on a boat." She replied.

A moment later Wanda froze. Raven looked at her and the girl began to drop to her knees, a cry coming out of her, a cry she knew very well. The blast from her almost knocked Raven to the ground and she looked down at her, "Go."

"Wha-" Wanda looked back at her.

"I understand. Make him feel it." She told the girl, "I got this."

"Thank you." And Wanda was gone.

She looked around and kept firing at the machines coming at her. Then the remaining ones swarmed her. She super-heated her body, fighting them off and she could see one going for the core. Her eyes went wide, and she yelled, "Get on the boats!"

"What?" Steve asked then jumped as the city began to drop, "Raven!"

Her body floated up and she killed the remaining bots as Thor came in, his hammer ready. Their eyes locked and she just gave him a nod. The shockwave knocked her away from Thor. As she fell, she gripped for rocks, anything that might help slow her down.

"Tony! Find Raven!" She could hear Steve yelling in her ear. She didn't think he would be able too, there was too much rubble, she couldn't even see Thor anymore.

Pushing up from a big bolder she tried to get to another one, attempting to use her heat as mini thrusters. However, a smaller rock cut off her path, hitting her right in the chest.

* * *

"We got separated after the blast, she could be anywhere." Thor looked at the map.

"We're going to find her." Steve said, mostly assuring himself. "Stark, you have any heat signatures?"

"I have a lot of them, there was just an explosion." He told Steve.

"She'd be like super-hot, though wouldn't she?" Clint asked.

"Yeah, which is why I think I've got something." Tony said.

They got to the point Tony told them about and the ground around her body was steaming. Steve didn't hesitate to run to her, picking her up in his arms, holding her tight. Her body was still warm, and he pushed the wet hair from her face, "Come on, Raven, wake up."

He could feel a pulse and that made him relieved, but he still wanted her to wake up. He put her head on his shoulder and kept muttering for her to wake up before hitting her on the back. She coughed and water came up and she said, "Told you I'd figure it out."

"You're a damn idiot, you know that." He pulled back from her slightly.

"I've had a clue." She smiled, her breathing still leveling out.

"I thought- We thought we'd lost you." He cupped her face.

"Take a lot more than a falling, exploding, city to get rid of me." She told him.

"Good." He lifted her off of the ground, not even caring if she could walk. Carrying her inside the jet he laid her down on a bench and she didn't object.

Finally, he sat down too on the floor next to her and she rolled her head to look at him, "Thanks for not leaving me behind."

"I don't leave people behind." He told her. "I'd have looked for you until we found you."

* * *

Steve walked out with Tony at New Avengers HQ, "It's time for me to tap out. Maybe take a page out of Bartons book, build Pepper a farm. Hope nobody blows it up."

"The simple life." Steve smiled at him.

"You'll get there one day." Tony told him.

"I don't know. Family, stability…The guy who wanted all that when in the ice seventy-five years ago." Steve replied, "I think someone else came out."

"I think your wrong." Tony told him.

"What?" Steve asked.

"Raven. The way you two look at each other. The way you held her when you found her after the explosion. Hell, I think you both are the only two that don't see it." He opened his car door, "Learn from past mistakes on this one buddy. Don't wait seventy years this time."

Steve watched as Tony got in his car and began to drive away. He thought back to when they attempted to talk about the kiss on the boat. Maybe she was just as bad at this as he was.


	10. Chapter 10

Raven was in the kitchen cooking a huge meal when Steve walked in, "Smells good. What are you making?"

"Dinner." She answered. "I'm starving."

"Is…is this all for you?" He looked at the massive amount of food, mashed potatoes, veggies, three chicken breasts.

"Yes." She looked up at him with a raised eyebrow, "Increased metabolism, remember."

"Yeah, I do. I have one too." He told her. A sweet smile formed on his face, "So how about you share?"

"How about you learn to cook more than spaghetti?" She looked back at him, "It's not the forties anymore, men can cook now."

"I know, I never said they could." He put his hands up in defense, a laugh in his voice, "I'm just saying you already have so much made and I'm also hungry…"

Raven squinted her eyes at him, "You think you can just flash those pearly whites and I'm just going to roll over?"

"Depends. Is it working?" He smirked.

"You can have one third of the food. If you're still hungry after you deal with that on your own." She pointed the spatula at him.

"How do you do it?" Wanda's voice cut through their banter looking at Raven.

"What? Cook?" Raven looked at her confused.

"No. The voice it's so loud. So demanding." Wanda spoke and Ravens smile fell slightly, "It screams for you to kill him. Kill Steve Rogers."

Steve looked down at her, "You still hear it?"

"Yeah." She turned back to the food, flipping a chicken breast, "I've gotten so used to it that I don't even know it's there sometimes."

"But it's so loud." Wanda walked further into the room.

"I just deal with the urges by starving him apparently." Raven joked and Steve didn't laugh.

"We should run some tests, see if there's something we can do." He looked down at her.

She sighed, "What's the point? I haven't tried to kill you in a very long time and even when I was, I wasn't successful." She then smiled sweetly at him, "Or maybe I'm just playing the long game now and getting you to trust me implicitly, so I don't have an issue getting to you when the opportunity arises."

"We're running tests." He put his hand on her shoulder, a smile breaking through on his face, "Because the last thing I want to happen is to wake up to you holding a knife over me."

"Well that's no fun." She muttered, pulling the food off the stove, "What else would you rather wake up to me doing."

His face went red and Raven tried to hold back her laugh at him. "I don't think I'm hungry anymore, now."

"Okay, cool." She turned to Wanda, "You hungry? I made plenty."

"Yes, it smells delicious." The girl went to grab a plate.

"Hey wait a minute!" Steve looked between them.

"What? You said you weren't hungry." Raven shrugged, "I shouldn't let it go to waste."

Steve just watched her as she and Wanda took all of the food over to the table and sat down eating. He wasn't sure whether to be offended or amused by it.

* * *

Wanda and Raven were outside working on ways to be able to combine their abilities. As Wanda put up a barrier Raven hit it with fire and the two collided, creating a wall of flames shooting out from both sides. She stopped her fire and smirked, "Well Steve and Thor have the hammer and shield, we have a wall of fire."

"I think ours can do more damage." Wanda smiled.

"Of course it can." Raven smirked.

"It's not as loud now. Why is that?" Wanda asked.

"You mean the voice? My order?" Raven clarified and Wanda nodded, "It's because Steve isn't around. The closer he is, the louder it gets."

"Does that not make things hard for you with how close the two of you are?"

"A little." Raven smirked, "But it's alright."

"I…I could try to get rid of it." Wanda suggested, "I know you were immune to my visions, but perhaps I could do something about the voice."

"It's fine." Raven told her, "It's a good reminder."

Wanda quirked her head slightly, "Reminder of what?"

"When you've done the things that I've done…and you're trying to be a better person." Ravens gaze went over to where Steve was training with Sam, "Sometimes it's good to have a constant reminder, so you don't do those things again."

"I think you already have that." Wanda looked behind her to see the two men together.

"Yeah, he tells me it all the time." Raven laughed.

"That's not what I mean." The girl looked back at her, "You care for him."

"Yeah, he helped me out when he could have locked me back up." Raven said.

"That's not what I mean." Wanda smiled, "You have feelings for him."

"What?" Raven scoffed out a laugh, "No. Steve still has Peggy and I made my bed a long time ago with relationships. When it comes to him, much like Thors hammer, I'd never be worthy."

"But you are." Wanda told her. She didn't think it would be right to tell Raven the things she heard Steve think about her sometimes. It wasn't her thoughts to tell. But she felt bad for them, both thinking the other didn't feel the same way about them. They had helped her so much, she wanted to help them.

Raven half laughed before looking at the ground, "Sure. We should keep going before Nat accuses us of taking a break."

"Alright, there is something I've been wanting to try." Wanda stepped away from her.

"What is it?"

"Just shoot your fire at me."

Raven's brow creased, "Okay."

She lifted her hands up and aimed for Wanda. Counting to three to let the girl know when she was going to fire, she started a stream and watched as Wanda encased her fire into her energy fields. She kept shooting but looked up as the fire went up into the sky, creating a spiral. It moved like a waterspout, flames licking out of it and Wanda began to turn it and Raven followed her path, both of them moving together. The tornado moved across the empty field, catching the attention of everyone outside. When Wanda called for her to stop, she did and she looked at the girl putting a hand on her back, "You okay?"

"Yeah, just didn't expect it to be that hard to contain." Wanda smiled at her.

"What the hell was that?" Steve and Sam ran over to them.

"A fire tornado?" Sam followed up with.

"It was something that would have been very useful in Sokovia." Raven smiled, "Might be useful again at some point."

"Tony's not going to be happy about the lawn." Sam looked back at the scorch marks on the Earth.

"Hey, he told us to get innovative." Raven smirked.

* * *

Steve was walking through the complex when he heard the TV on. Heading for the req room, he leaned on the door frame seeing Raven sitting in the dark, a bowl of popcorn on her lap and a movie on the screen. "Didn't know you were staying for the weekend."

She turned to look at him, "Everyone else was leaving to take a break, thought it'd be wrong to leave you here by yourself…with Vision."

He laughed coming into the room, then looked at the screen. It sounded like it was in Korean as a man walked through a train, walkie talkie in his hand. He motioned, "What are you watching?"

"Train to Busan. Ever seen it?" She asked popping a piece of popcorn in her mouth.

"No." He shook his head then watched as teens played on the train before a woman limped through with another woman on her back, "What's happening?"

"Just watch." She smirked.

Keeping his eyes on the screen he moved to the couch sitting down. The woman limping fell and his eyes got wide as the other woman was tearing into her neck. The woman eating the other woman then jumped up and started biting on one of the teenagers, "Seriously, what the hell is happening?"

"Oh, the language." She laughed at him and he gave her an unamused look before she paused the movie, "It's a zombie movie. Have you not seen one yet?"

"The zombie movies weren't like this back in my day." He tore his eyes from the screen to her, "How do they get out?"

"How about I start the movie over." She clicked the menu button on the remote.

"Hold on, I'm going to make us more popcorn." He got up from the couch.

"Grab some drinks too!" She called after him.

Steve came back with four bags of popcorn for them to share and plenty to wash it down with and she restarted the movie. They sat there watching the movie and at parts Steve gripped her knee and she couldn't help but chuckle at him, wondering how much more immersive movies are now then they were back in his day. Although it was one of her favorites, she ended up watching Steve more than the movie.

When it was done, he leaned back on the couch and stared at the credits, "That was…really good."

"That's why I was watching it." She put the empty bowl of popcorn on the table.

"Thanks for letting me join." He smiled at her. "And thanks for staying to keep me company."

He went to put his hand down at his side, but it ended up landing on top of her hand. Slowly, his fingers curled around it. Hers curled back. They looked at each other for a moment before Raven swallowed hard. "I should probably put the dishes up."

"Yeah." Their hands separated, "I was on my way to -uh- doing something before the movie, so I should get back to it."

"Alright, cool." She grabbed the bowls and empty bottles. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yeah, tomorrow." He answered.

* * *

**A/N: Don't forget to let me know what you think :) More to come soon!**


	11. Chapter 11

"Sam!" She yelled seeing Rumlow drive off, "I'm in pursuit but could use a lift!"

"On it." He flew down behind her, grabbing her by a strap on her suit that had been built in just for this purpose.

She tried to shoot fire at the truck, but it was too close to people. It rammed into a marketplace. Raven looked up, "Sam, where'd Rumlow go?"

"East. The others are splitting up two and two." He told her as they landed on the ground.

"I've got left." Natasha said.

"I've got Rumlow." Raven followed. She went the direction Sam had told her and pulled out her blades, the marketplace full of people.

"No, I've got you _again_, bitch." Rumlow spoke behind her.

As she turned around, he punched her in the stomach. She slid back from the force of his gauntlets. Fire laced through her blades and she rushed him.

Steve was running to catch up with them and heard a fight. He broke through in time to see Rumlow release a blade putting it through Ravens stomach, "NO!"

Raven looked from the blade then up to Rumlow through his mask, "Sorry, I got an upgrade."

Her body went white hot and she let out a yell. The metal of his blade started to melt, and his hand burned from the heat as the blade fell from her body. He punched her in the face, sending her flying and as she laid in the rubble, catching her breath for a moment she muttered, "Tag out."

"On it." Steve rushed in.

It took her a bit to be able to stand back up, but once she did, she was fine again. Rumlow was on his knees, Steve holding his collar. The man was talking about Bucky. She approached the two of them then saw Rumlow stick his hand out. Running as the button clicked, she stopped as Wanda contained the blast, trying to lift it up. She lost control of it as it got higher. It exploded next to the building.

Screams were already filling her ears as her feet moved to get her into the building. Up the stairs she rushed through the fire, helping everyone she could.

* * *

Steve saw her wiping the soot and ash off of her face and hands on the flight back. Walking over to her he pointed to the hole in her suit on her stomach, "You alright?"

She looked down at the hole, "First hole it's gotten and I'm still standing. I consider that a win."

"It could have been a close call though." He put his hand on her shoulder.

"Maybe for someone normal like you." She smirked.

"Raven." His face softened.

"I'm more worried about her." She motioned her head towards Wanda in the back of the jet.

"Yeah, I know." He was careful not to look at the girl, so she didn't know they were talking about them. He lowered his voice, "We should give her some time before we try to talk to her about it."

She nodded, "It's still to fresh right now."

"When she seems a little better, you should talk to her. You guys are close." Steve's hand slid down to her elbow.

"Yeah." She looked up at him, "Yeah, I will."

She let out a sigh and he asked again, "You sure you're okay?"

Raven nodded, "Are you? After what he said about Bucky?"

"I froze." His eyes went to the ground, "I froze and that's why all of those people are dead."

"No." She shook her head at him, placing a hand on his chest, "Rumlow is why they're dead. Not because of any of us. If he hadn't of been doing what he was, then we never would have even been there."

"Yeah…yeah I guess your right." He gave her a sad smile.

* * *

Raven knocked on Steve's office door. He turned in his chair, "Hey."

"Hey."

"What's up?"

"I think she might need you." Raven walked in, the TV from Wanda's room being heard down the hall. "Just like I did."

"I'll see what I can do." He stood from his chair, "Tony should be here soon."

"Alright. I'll send Vision when he gets here." She said watching him leave and head to Wanda's room.

It didn't take Tony long to get there with Secretary Ross in tow. The group of them assembled in the meeting room and listened as Ross talked about perspective and how he thinks they're dangerous. When he started showing images of the devastation Raven looked away from the screen as New York was shown, but she felt Steve's hand on her leg. Her hand found a place on top of his as the screen continued to show different events they had been a part of.

She listened as Ross told them about the Sokovia Accords and she stayed out of the conversation that followed. She listened to the arguments after the man left, as Vision told them about the growth in world ending events in comparison to the number of enhanced individuals. She didn't do anything as Tony told them he'd already made up his mind, then told them about the boy who died in Sokovia.

"Tony, someone dies on your watch, you don't give up." Steve told him.

"Who says were giving up?" Tony asked him.

"We are if we're not taking responsibility for our actions." He answered. "This document just shifts the blame."

"I'm sorry, Steve," Rhodey butted in, "That is dangerously arrogant. This is the United Nations we're talking about. Not the World Security Council. It's not S.H.I.E.L.D., it's not Hydra."

"But how long until it is?" Raven finally spoke and the room looked to her. She looked up at them, "Other people given power like ours without ever having learned how to wield it will always abuse it." She pointed at Tony, "And don't you say anything about New York because I know what I did, and I did it because people had power and they didn't know how to use it and it made me, then I was given power through Loki and didn't know how to use it. I have taken responsibility for that and I've had some due punishment. I'm still trying to make up for what I did back then, believe me I am." She stood, "I don't want someone else to use me for their political agenda. I've done that before. I've been a contract mercenary before. And I'm not going to be that again."

She left the room and headed to hers. Once she got there, she started packing a bag. When she zipped it up, she looked and saw Steve standing in the doorway, his face solemn. He sniffled, "You -uh- you leaving?"

"I was thinking some time in Seoul would be nice." She didn't pick up her bag though.

"How about London instead?" His throat was tight.

She went over to him, "What's wrong?"

"Peggy…she's…um…" He couldn't say it, but she knew. Her face fell and she put her arms around him, and he held her tight. She ran her hand down the back of his hair and felt him start to cry.

She didn't know what to say. "I'm sorry."

"Will you go? With me?" He asked.

She nodded, "Yeah. My bags are already packed."

* * *

Raven had only been to one funeral before, Pietro's, but she stayed by Steve's side the whole time. When the got back to the hotel room they saw the footage of the explosion and the information about Bucky and they were on their way to Vienna, and from some intel from old S.H.I.E.L.D. contacts, Bucharest.

When they got to Bucky's apartment, she stayed away from the fray, unless it got to bad. Her powers would just make it more obvious what was going on to the authorities. She went along side them the whole way though, keeping Steve and Sam aware of her position in case they needed her at any point. None of the German forces had seen her so when Rhodey showed up she hid even more.

Raven was breathing hard from the running but heard Rhodey ask, "Where's Raven?"

"Not here." Steve told him.

She wasn't sure if she was relieved or not when he said that. She wasn't ready to get taken into custody again, but it also meant she wasn't going to be with the rest of them. What she was sure of was that she had to find a way to Berlin to try and get them out of there.

* * *

She looked at the Task Force building and had no idea how she was going to do this. Waiting until night didn't seem possible. Walking in and lighting the place up could just make things even worse than they already were. The power went out throughout the entire block she could see, including the Task Force building. Something was wrong, she just knew it. There was no way that a power outage would just happen after a high priority subject was just taken into custody.

With the traffic lights out she carefully made her way across the street. Rushing into the building could once again be a bad decision, but screw it, she was doing it anyways. If something was wrong, people could be getting hurt, if nothing was wrong, she was just there to see if her friends were okay.

As she ran through the building she came across Tony and Nat fighting Bucky. She yelled out, "Bucky, stop it!"

He didn't even look at her, flinch in response to his name. Something was very wrong. It was like when she had been programed by HYDRA and given a mission. She ran over and jumped him, taking the fight away from the others.

"Raven, you can't! You haven't signed!" Tony yelled.

"None of you are a match for him! He'll kill you." She grunted out the last part as Bucky pinned her to the ground, only to be ripped off by the T'Challa. "Okay, he's a match for him."

"Then why aren't you stopping running after them?" Natasha yelled as she followed their fight.

"No, I in team." She yelled back. She didn't follow them up the stairs but when Bucky fell and kept running, she followed him.

Steve almost rammed into her on the stairs, "What are you doing here?"

"Well I was originally coming up with a way to break you out but now I'm trying to stop your friend from getting away." She answered as they bolted up the stairs.

When they reached the roof, they saw Bucky in the helicopter. Steve yelled, already running, "I've got this, you cover us!"

She kept her hands ready to fire anything at the door but kept her eyes on them. Raven watched as Steve jumped onto the helicopter, then grabbing a pole to keep Bucky from getting away. When she saw the man inside turn the machine towards him and the blades flying back at Steve, her throat burned as she yelled his name. But when the helicopter stopped moving, he was fine, and she breathed a sigh.

Bucky's arm busted out of the window, hand wrapping around Steve's neck. The helicopter started sliding and Steve couldn't get away. Running towards them and she put her arms around his waist, pulling him back, both of their feet sliding as the weight of the aircraft pulled them both. They toppled over the side, crashing into the water. When the metal settled at the bottom of the small river Steve pulled Bucky out and they swam to the top. Raven breathed in a lung full of air, "I swear, I end up in water one more time."

Steve couldn't help but laugh as they made their way to the bank.

* * *

A/N: Don't forget to let me know what you guys think :) Good stuff ahead!


	12. Chapter 12

"Who were they?" Steve asked about the people Bucky was saying were also given the serum he was given, one like the one she was given.

"Their most elite death squad. Most kills in HYDRA history. And that was before the serum." Bucky looked up at Raven, "Your brother…they wanted him to become one."

"What?" She stepped forward.

He nodded, "Yeah, they asked Crow to join HYDRA, to get an upgrade, join that squad. He said no, he was already apart of one." Ravens jaw went stiff hearing this. Bucky continued, "They knew that if he just disappeared then you would get suspicious, so they took him out instead, sent…us to blow up the building, hoping that maybe it would turn you. But you left instead, before they could ask you. I'm sorry. I didn't want to."

Steve looked from Raven to Bucky then back. Turning to leave the room, her fists clenched tight, she told the man, "You couldn't control yourself. I'm going to make a call."

"What kind of call?" Steve moved towards her.

"The kind that gets you your stuff back so we can stop this guy." She didn't stop walking out of the room. Going to the other side of the building she made her call and set up a meeting place to get Steve and Sam's stuff. She sat her phone down and took in a deep breath, hands moving over her face as she tried to process what she'd just been told.

"You okay?" Steve's voice broke through her thoughts.

"Yeah. I'm fine." She gave him a smile. "It happened a while ago."

"Raven, it's me."

"I said I'm fine!" She snapped then let out a sigh, rubbing her temple. "Sorry…I didn't mean to…Why didn't he tell me?"

"What do you mean?" He stepped towards her.

"Why didn't he tell me what they asked? Why did he keep it to himself?" She leaned on the work bench behind her.

"He wanted to protect you." He put his hand on her arm, "If he had told you they might have killed you too."

"Or worse I might have told him to join." She looked at the ground. After a pause she told him, "My contact said they needed some time for things to cool down before they could get your equipment out."

"Okay. Sam's making some calls to get us help on taking these guys down." Steve told her. "So, since we've got time, tell me about your brother. We've never really talked about him. His code name was Crow?"

She nodded, "Yeah."

"What was his real name?" He asked.

"I don't know." She answered and Steve looked at her confused, "I don't know mine either. Harder to leave when you don't know your own identity."

Steve's face slowly fell. How could they not even tell her what her real name was? "Raven, I'm so sorry."

"Don't be," She shrugged it off with a smile, "It's been like that my whole life. I don't know any different."

He nodded, she was probably right, it didn't really matter any more because she had an identity now, she'd made one for herself. "So what was he like? Your brother?"

"Crow?" She laughed, "He was a smart ass. More so than me."

"That's hard to believe." Steve smiled.

"Trust me I know. But he was also just…smart. Great with technology, a lot better than me. He was loyal too…all the way until the end it seems." She forced out a laugh, looking away from Steve and back at the ground again. "He was my moral compass. He made sure that the shots I called were the right ones. And when he was gone, I didn't care anymore. What was the point when I had lost everything?"

Steve couldn't help himself, he wrapped his arms around her. He felt her gently, just barely hold him back. "I'm so sorry. If…if I had stopped HYDRA completely back then…this never would have happened. You'd still have your brother."

"It's okay. If you'd done that then you wouldn't have Bucky still." She tried to be like him and look on the brightside.

"Thanks for not holding it against him." Steve said against her hair.

"How could I? I've been in the same situation. He couldn't help it." She pulled away and looked up at him, "You've never held it against me that I tried to kill you…or anything else."

"And I never will." He assured her, his voice soft. They didn't move from this spot, both of them looking at each other. Steve swallowed hard, he wasn't going to wait to long this time. His eyes focused on her lips.

"Cap! Raven!" Sam's voice echoed down the hallway.

Steve shut his eyes, trying not to let out a sigh and removed his arms from around her, "Yeah?"

"They're on their way." He said coming into the room.

"Alright." Steve walked towards him, heading out of the room as Raven picked her phone back up.

Sam grinned at him as they walked to where Bucky was, "I tried to give you enough time."

"Yeah, well ya didn't." Steve grumbled.

* * *

They were about to head to the helicopter Clint had waiting for them when the alarms started going off and an alert saying to evacuate the airport. Sam looked at them, "Stark."

"Everyone, suit up." Steve said, "Wanda and Clint, you're together. Sam and Bucky, same with you guys. Raven and Lang, you're with me."

Soon they were all in position and she and Cap with Lang on his shield were making their way to the helicopter before Tony and Rhodey landed. Steve told them about the other super soldiers and that the doctor was going to wake them up, but the team still surrounded them anyways. Some new guy flipped in and took Steves shield hooking his hands together with webbing.

Tony looked at Raven, "You know, I thought maybe you were coming around, fighting against Bucky."

"I was just trying to save your life." Raven told him.

"You guys have been idiots, you know that?" Tony tried to control his anger, "Dragging in Clint. 'Rescuing' Wanda from a place she doesn't even want to leave, a safe place."

"If she didn't want to leave, she wouldn't have. That's kind of how choices work." Raven said.

"Then why are you choosing this? Knowing what's going to happen to you?" Natasha asked.

"Because these super soldiers killed my brother." Raven looked over her shoulder at her, "And I want them dead before they can kill someone else's. It's the right thing to do."

Tony said he was done and started demanding they hand over Bucky and turn themselves in before J-SOC got there. Sam's voice entered their ears telling them the found the Quinjet the others arrived in. With that Raven reached over and put her hand above the webbing on Steve's hands, burning him free. Lang brought him back his shield and the fight started.

Steve went after T'Challa so Rhodey headed to her, pulling out an electric baton, "This isn't going to kill you."

"Not much can it seems." Raven smirked and as the man tried to hit her with it, she put an arm up, taking the shock before putting her hand around it, melting it with her flames before crushing it in her palm.

"Oh, come on, you know how much I liked that." Rhodey looked at the broken baton.

"You knew better than to try and hit me with it." Raven swung around, kicking him in the head then the stomach knocking him back.

Lang ran up to them and handed Steve a toy truck and told him to throw it. When he did it got larger and exploded, the man had apparently thought it was a water truck, but it wasn't and both Raven and Steve gave him a look. Despite that though, the way was clear, and they ran for the jet. Only to be cut off by Vision. An even bigger fight ensued.

The spider guy tried webbing up Raven, but she kept herself white hot, the webbing burning away as soon as it touched her. They kept trying to make their way to the jet and at one point she ended up with Steve and Bucky. Bucky looked at them, "We gotta go. That guy's probably in Siberia by now."

"We gotta take care of the flyers. We'll take Vision, you get to the jet." Steve told his friend.

"No, you get to the jet." Sam said. "Both of you. The rest of us aren't getting out of here."

"As much as I hate to admit it…if we're gonna win this one, some of us might have to lose it." Clint added.

"This isn't the real fight Steve." Sam followed.

"They're right." Raven told him, "You guys need to get out of here."

"No, you're coming with us." He looked at her.

"No, I can make a bigger distraction." She said.

"They'll take you in, you know what might happen." He took her arm.

"Eh, I'll figure it out." She smirked. "I always do."

"The last time you said that you fell from a falling city in the sky." Steve didn't let her go.

"Good thing I'm already on the ground this time." She reassured him.

"Did someone say distraction? I've got one of those!" Lang said, "Run for it on my signal."

"Steve, I've already lost my brother, you shouldn't lose yours." She looked at Bucky then back to Steve, "Go give them hell for me."

"Yes ma'am." Steve said as Lang grew to be huge.

"I think that's your signal." She smiled.

"Yeah, it is." He cupped her face pressing his lips to hers for a moment. Her hand gripped at his side, wanting to hold him there longer, but there wasn't time.

When they broke apart, she gave him a push, "Go! We got this!"

He nodded with a smile and she gave him one back as he started to run, and she rejoined the fight. Tony kept going after Lang and she finally used her fire now that the planes were being destroyed anyway. She aimed at him, getting his attention and he fired his repulsers at her, mostly just blocking her vision with dust for a moment. They kept on, as long as it took for Steve and Bucky to get to the jet.

Finally, when Lang made himself small again the fight seemed to be over as the jet took off. Raven stopped, catching her breath for a moment and looked over at Clint who just gave her a shrug, "You could still get out of here you know."

"I think that would make things worse." Raven replied.

"Yeah pro-" Clint was cut off by them seeing Visions beam fly out and hit Rhodey.

Raven yelled out his name running for the area he was falling down to. As fast as she could get there, wouldn't be fast enough so she put her hands on the ground, attempting to super heat the dirt enough to get it to soften, maybe even start melting to soften his landing. She hadn't gotten very far by the time he hit.

* * *

"What's gonna happen to your friends?" Bucky asked.

Steve sighed, "Whatever it is, I'll deal with it."

"I don't know if I'm worth all this Steve."

"Raven thought you were. Gave up her chance at a final revenge for us to get out of there." Steve told him, "She was right when she said you couldn't control it, that it wasn't your fault. Because she was like that too. Still is sometimes. Still has the command order to kill me inside of her, but she doesn't. Because that's not her, just like what you did wasn't you."

"She seems nice." Bucky said, "Cares about you. That's good. I'm glad you were able to find someone who saw past all of the muscles and good looks."

Steve laughed, "Yeah, don't know how it'll go next time I see her though."

"What do you mean?"

"I still don't understand women it would seem." He wondered if it would just get glossed over like the last time.

* * *

Raven was vaguely aware of someone coming into their cellblock, but she could hear Clint talking. She managed to focus in on what he was saying, "He sees all. He knows what's best for you, whether you like it or not."

"Give me a break Barton. I had no idea they'd put you here." It was Tony.

"You didn't? Tell that to Ravens special cell over there." Clint motioned over. Tony looked to see what appeared to be frost on the glass of her cell, her breath visible in the freezing air she was contained in. Clint looked at him, "That takes more than thirty-six hours to prepare, we both know that. It was built for her…sometime after you helped her."

Tony walked over to the door of her cell and she managed to look at him. Her bare feet on the cold floor were tucked up close next to her butt, her arms tight around her. She gave him as much of a smile as she could manage, "They said it gets down to minus one thousand degrees in here."

"Raven…I-I didn't know they would do this to you." Tony did feel bad looking at her shivering slightly.

"I made my choice while I was still able too." She looked away from him, "Even in here, I know it was the right one."

Tony went over to Sam and knocked out the audio in the surveillance system. He told them, "Look, I was wrong."

"Explains why it's such a cold day in hell." Raven used all of her energy to say loud enough so he could hear.

"I just need to know where Steve went."

* * *

**A/N: I know it's still going kind of fast, but I'm trying to add more interaction with other characters in there!**


	13. Chapter 13

"Raven!" Clint yelled, but got no response, "Raven!"

"Guys! Come on! She's not moving at all!" Scott yelled at the cameras.

Clint stared at her from his cell, lying on the floor, she'd been slowly going out of consciousness but when she'd tried to move onto her side on the bed she'd fallen off and hadn't moved since. He kept yelling her name until the door opened. Even though it was Steve he didn't feel relieved. Sam spoke quickly, "Cap, you gotta get Raven out of there!"

"Oh god." Steve muttered seeing her on the floor. When he grabbed the cell handle it was freezing, then he noticed the frost. "No."

Busting the door open he moved in quickly and scooped her off of the floor, leaving the cell and kicking the door back shut so the cold didn't follow them out. He moved her hair out of the way and her skin had a chill to it, but her lips were blue. Feeling for a pulse he got a slow one and he set her down on the ground before opening up the other cells. He picked Raven back up, holding her close as he told Sam to lead them out.

Clint flew the jet to the coordinates Steve gave him and they met Natasha there. The woman looked at the still unconscious Raven, "Oh my god, what did they do to her?"

"Put her in an ice box." Sam said.

"I thought the straight jacket was bad." Wanda added.

"I need as many blankets as we have, anything to warm her back up." Steve carried her into one of the bedrooms.

* * *

She swallowed hard, her throat dry and scratchy. Probably from the cold air she thought. But she wasn't cold. She was warm, and there was something warm in her hand, someone else's hand. "Told you I'd figure it out."

Steve smiled despite her scratchy voice, "I figured it out."

"Yeah, but I knew you'd come, so it still counts." She opened her eyes and saw him sitting down next to her bed, "Thanks for doing that again."

"Wouldn't have stopped until they locked me up or you all were free." He squeezed her hand before giving her a glass of water from the nightstand.

Sitting up slightly she realized there were about twenty blankets on top of her, "You know a warm bath probably would have worked too."

"You said you were sick of ending up in water though." He joked as she took a sip.

She let out a laugh then looked at him, "The super soldiers?"

"All dead." He told her, "It was a trick to get us there, show Tony…show Tony that Bucky killed his parents. He wanted us to fight each other…and it worked."

"But Bucky didn't have any control over it." Raven drank more water, "Tony should have known that."

"Tony didn't see it how you did." He gave her a sad smile.

She looked around, "Where are we?"

"Safe house. Fury gave us a hand with it. We're in Budapest." He informed her.

"Ah, well that's good." She moved to lift the blankets off of her.

Steve took her arm, "I don't know that you should be moving."

"I've barely been able to move since they put me in that cell, I need to get up." She smiled swinging her legs over the edge of the bed. As she tried to stand her tired legs gave out and Steve moved to catch her, his arms going around her and her hands grabbing his shoulders for support.

Their eyes met and he slowly brought her up right as her legs began to take her weight. He moved a lock of hair from her face, tucking it behind her ear, then cupped her cheek. His voice was a whisper, "I was so scared when I saw you on the floor…your lips were blue."

"You survived seventy years in the ice, and you thought a little freezer would take me down?" She smiled.

"Raven-"

She cut him off with her lips on his. He smiled as they kissed, his arms pulling her closer. Ravens hand slid up his chest, going around the back of his neck. Her fingers began to grip it tight though.

_KILL HIM._

Raven pushed him away, her hand against his chest as she held her head with the other one. His forehead creased, "It was the voice again, wasn't it?"

"It's fine." She let go of her head, lowering her hand from him, "My mind went blank, so it got really loud."

"Stop doing this to yourself." He put his hand on her shoulder, moving closer to her, "Wanda…Wanda told me what you said, what she offered to do." Raven turned and looked at him, her brows furrowed together, "She was worried about you."

"I'm fine, I have a handle on it." She told him.

"That doesn't matter." He cupped her face, "You don't have to punish yourself like this. We both know you're not going back to how it was before. Not after what you've learned. Trust me, I don't think I'd be standing here right now if I thought you would ever go back."

"Thanks, but I'm fine." She gave him a small smile.

He let it go, knowing how she was, and instead focused on something else. The corners of his lips upturned, "So a blank mind?"

"Yeah. Pretty good for a hundred-year-old who hasn't kissed anyone in a _really_ long time." She held back a smirk.

"Yeah, well, I googled somethings." He told her.

"Oh, really?" Raven raised an eyebrow, "Like what?"

"You'll just have to wait and find out." He kissed her again.

She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and focused on him more this time, ignoring the voice in her head. His fingers grazed through her hair as they kissed slow, while he did want to make up for lost time, he was still Steve Rogers, and rushing things wasn't who he was. She didn't mind, going fast is what got her in trouble last time, and she was perfectly fine standing there with his arms around her, his lips gently moving against hers.

"Glad to see your feeling better Raven." Natasha's voice cut into their moment.

Steve and Raven pulled away from each other quickly, his face a warm shade of red. Raven smiled at her, "Thanks, I guess summer is my new season."

"I guess so." The woman smiled back.

"Did you need something?" Steve asked her.

"Fury wants to talk to us." She told them. "Raven, I'll bring you some clothes to change into."

"Alright." She said as the other two left the room. She couldn't believe she had let herself do it, let herself have feelings for Steve. He deserved more than someone who had done the things she had.

As they walked down the hallway Natasha smirked, "So I don't know whether to say, 'I told you so', or 'took you long enough'."

"Hush." Steve tried to keep the smile off of his face though.

* * *

Raven was changed out of her prison uniform and the group of them sat in the safe houses living area, Nick Fury standing in front of them. He looked around, "You all just love making my life difficult, don't you?"

"We didn't mean to." Steve said.

"No, I know." Fury nodded, "Just doing what was right, sometimes things don't turn out well afterwards though. Barton, Lang, I doubt you two want to stay here, away from your families."

"Yeah." Clint leaned back in his chair, "But what other option is there?"

"I still have some old contacts that might be able to help you two out." He told the two of them. "Raven, Sam, Wanda…Steve, I don't know that I can do much for you other than providing a safe place to stay. Same with you Romanoff."

"What bout Bucky?" Raven asked.

"We can't have him out on the streets." Fury answered, "Anyone can figure out how to use him to their advantage now that people know about the conditioning."

"So, we're just supposed to keep him under house arrest? Not let him outside?" Steve stepped closer towards the group.

"It's fine Steve, it's probably best." Bucky sighed, "I…I don't wanna be used like that again."

"You won't be." Raven looked over at him. He gave her a small smile back in thanks.

"I'm going to pool my resources, reach out where I can, but until we get that programming out of your head, we can't let you do much of anything." Fury looked at him too.

"What about the rest of us? Are we also not allowed to leave?" Wanda asked.

"No, just don't do anything to get noticed, keep low profiles." Fury looked around at them, "But, when the occasion calls, we might need some heroing done. Until then though, enjoy a break."

"I think we could all use one of those." Natasha leaned back in her chair.


	14. Chapter 14

Raven was sitting at the table with Steve, both of them having pencil and paper in their hands. Steve was leaned back in the seat and Raven was curled up in hers, a foot propped up on the chair. He was itching his chin and she glared at him, "I swear to god if you don't stop doing that."

"Doing what?" He looked at her, breaking his concentration.

"Scratching your damn beard. You've been doing it for five minutes straight." She almost groaned.

He chuckled, "Sorry, it itches."

"Well you could shave." She muttered. She didn't like his beard at all, it looked weird on him. It was still short and scraggly at the moment, but she much preferred him clean shaven.

"No, he can't." Natasha came in the room with bags, "He has the most recognizable jawline in the world."

"I'm aware." Raven smirked at her.

"I got this for you." She put down a box of hair dye and Steve pursed his lips together at the color.

"I am not dying my hair," She picked up the box and read, "Medium Rose Gold. I'll just grow a beard like Steve, no one will ever look at me then."

He stopped his laugh while Natasha took the box back from her, "While you're not wrong. You have to do something if you're going to be outside."

"Problem solved. I just won't go outside." Raven gave her a charming smile. "Sam doesn't have to change anything."

"I think you're fine." Steve said, "As long as you don't start glowing."

"See, he thinks I'm fine. And what the Captain says, goes." Raven motioned to him, still looking at Natasha, "My hair's not as noticeable as yours is anyway."

"Which is why I'm going," Natasha looked at her box, "Ultra-light cool blonde."

"I hear they have more fun, so let me know." Raven joked, going back to her sheet of paper. Natasha went around behind her and as she passed, she saw what was on the paper.

She smirked, "You forgot the beard."

"For good reason." She looked at the paper. Steve tried to peak over and see what they were talking about and Raven turned her pad to show him the realistic drawing of him, but without the beard. He laughed and turned his own paper to reveal a forming sketch of her sitting in the chair, with her pencil and paper. She quirked her head, "Since when do you know how to draw?"

"Oh, about 1935." He smiled, "Guess my time in art school wasn't important enough to make it into my S.H.I.E.L.D. file."

"Look, more shared life experience." Natasha joked and the two of them shot her a look, despite the fact they were slightly amused by her statement.

"Someone's here." Wanda came into the room.

"Who?" Steve stood quickly.

"Me." They all turned to see King T'Challa on the other side of the room in another doorway. Raven stood too now, and he put his hands up, "Do not worry, I'm not here to start a fight."

"That's a relief, we just got the place all decorated." Natasha gave him a small smile.

"I heard that your friend, Fury, was looking for a way to deprogram Barnes." He took a step into the room, "We might be able to help with that."

"And why would you do that?" Raven asked, "We haven't exactly been friendly with each other."

"I know, and that is mostly my fault for not doing the proper research." He told them, "Barnes is a victim of Zemo, just as my father was. If I can help one of them at least, then I should."

* * *

Raven and Wanda were in the kitchen cooking when Bucky walked in, "Hey Wanda, Natasha was wondering if she could borrow you for a minute."

"Yeah." Wanda wiped her hands off as she left the room.

Bucky came up and looked at Raven stirring the stew they were working on. When he just stood there quietly, she smirked, "So is this the moment when you do the whole 'hurt my best friend and I'll kill you' thing?"

"More or less." He looked over at her.

"Consider me intimidated." She looked back at him.

"I'm going to Wakanda with T'Challa." He told her.

"Yeah, Steve told me he's leaving with you in the morning." She nodded.

He leaned against the counter, "While he's gone, you should have Wanda take a look inside your head. She wasn't able to help me, but it was also decades worth of programming. She might be able to actually do something for you."

She sighed with a laugh, "Should have known he'd talk to you about it."

"He really does care about you." Bucky told her, then a smile formed on his face, "But he also told me that he doesn't really like the idea of you thinking about killing him while doing other things."

"Ahh." Raven held back a smile, "Well, he doesn't have to worry about that, it's one of the last things on my mind except when I'm trying to go to sleep."

"And what happens the first time you two fall asleep together?" He asked. She stopped stirring the stew. Raven hadn't thought that far ahead. With someone like Steve, she figured it'd be a while before she had to cross that bridge. Bucky continued, "So, yeah, I did come here to give you the talk, but know that the longer you wait to try and get rid of it, the more worried he's going to get about it. And that's going to end up hurting him. He doesn't want you punishing yourself anymore for things you couldn't control. If you were able to forgive me for what I helped do to your brother…maybe it's time to forgive yourself too."

She kept her eyes on the pot, her voice soft, "I'll think about it."

* * *

Raven knocked on Wanda's door. Steve had been gone for three days and what Bucky had said to her had been echoing through her mind since he'd left. Wanda turned to her, "Raven, what's up?"

"Do you think you can do it?" She asked.

"Do what?"

"Get…get this thing out of my head?" Raven stepped into the room.

"I don't know, I wasn't able to help Steve's friend…but you might be easier?" Wanda turned on her bed, "I can still try though."

"I'd really appreciate it." Raven moved into the room, sitting on the bed next to her, "I'll owe you one."

"No, I already owe you. You've done a lot to help me." Wanda smiled at her.

"Fine, we'll be even then." Raven returned the smile.

"Now, just relax." The girl held up her hands on either side of Ravens face and Raven closed her eyes, taking in a deep breath. She could feel tingles on her temples and could feel the witch inside her mind, looking, searching through everything. Not moving until the tingling sensation stopped, she heard Wanda, "Did it work?"

"I…I don't know." Raven opened her eyes. "I think so?"

* * *

She was folding her laundry when there was a knock on her door frame, "Hey."

"Hey." She turned and saw Steve standing there watching her, "How's Bucky?"

"They put him back to sleep. It was his choice. Just until they can deprogram him." He walked into the room.

"That's good. I hope it works." Putting her folded shirt down she went over to him and hand cupping his neck she pressed her lips to his.

Nothing.

Steve smiled, his hands going to her hips. When she broke away, he looked down at her, "If I'm understanding this correctly, I think you missed me."

"Nope, just testing something." Her lips formed a thin smile. His brows creased and her smile grew wider. "I let Wanda…do the thing."

"And?" He chest tightened.

"So far so good." She told him.

A laugh escaped him, and he knocked the door with his heal, shutting it as he pressed his lips back to hers. "Good. Buck told me he talked to you about it."

"My god, what are you two, middle school girls?" She laughed.

"I'm glad you finally let it go." He ran his hand down her hair.

"That's not why I did it." She told him.

"Then why did you do it?" He asked.

She ran her hand up his shoulder to his cheek, "He told me that if I didn't at least try to get rid of it, it would end up hurting you. I don't want to hurt you Steve and if I chose to keep it then anything that I chose after that would hurt you. Plus, I have my reminder of who I should stay, right here."

"You're damn right." He put his forehead to hers, noses touching. "So…did you…you know, miss me?"

"Eh." She smiled, "Two weeks is a long time, but I waited on you longer before."

"Oh, you waited on me?" He laughed.

"Mmhmm." She leaned up to him, "I didn't want to intimidate you by making the first move. You old people and your traditions."

"I wouldn't have minded you breaking that one." He kissed her. His arms laced around her and he could feel the difference in the way she held him, no stiffness in her hands, she was leaning into him instead too.

Raven moved her hand from his shoulder to the back of his head, her fingers running through his growing hair. She felt him hold her tighter, they'd never gotten the chance to kiss like this before, her always holding back because of the command in her head, but now she didn't care. The kiss became deeper, their mouths opening more to each other.

Steve stopped for a second, their mouths barely apart and he breathlessly asked, "Where is Wanda? I want to thank her."

"Out with a friend." She brushed her nose against his.

"Friend?" He questioned, "What kind of friend."

"Oh, you know." She smiled, "The same kind of friend you are to me."

"And what kind of friend is that?" His lips grazed hers.

"The best kind a girl can have."

Before he kissed her again, he looked down at her, "Hey, I know this is probably stupid since now we don't have to, but is it alright if we take this slow?"

"Yeah, of course." She nodded, she knew that things like this for him didn't come as easy as they did for her. It's something that was still hard for him to get used too in the twenty first century. "Give you plenty of time to google as we go."

"That's how it's going to be?" He laughed.

"If you rather I show and tell you everything, I can." Her hand ran down his chest.

Steve swallowed hard, "What…what do you mean by that?"

She laughed kissing him again. As they kissed, she waited until he was relaxed into it again and nibbled on his bottom lip. Feeling his fingers tighten on her she smiled into him as he shifted his weight a little. Next, she waited until his mouth was slightly open again and grazed her tongue against his lips. He froze slightly and she gently let her tongue into his mouth.

When her tongue found his, his mouth opened wider, his hand moving to her head, tangling in her hair. Moving with her now he let his tongue explore hers and her mouth. As he leaned into her more, she pulled him closer, their chests pressed together.

Before they went any further, she pulled away, a teasing smile on her face, "Was that your first French kiss?"

Steve swallowed hard, leveling himself back out, his eyes still closed and answered, "Yeah. Yeah it was."

"Not bad, maybe I should let google keep doing it's thing." She cupped his cheek.

"No." His breath was shaky, "I like the way you teach."

"Class is available anytime then." She laughed. "I still hate your beard though."

"I'll shave the second I'm able." He told her.


	15. Chapter 15

Raven was curled up against Steve, a blanket over them, his arm around her as they watched the show. During moments when it was tense his thumb stopped moving up and down her arm and she was sure to place a hand on his chest to try and comfort him, she'd seen the episodes before. She thought it was funny every time there was a sex scene, they were in a brothel, or anyone, specifically a woman, was naked because he would look away from the screen, his hand tight around her arm.

As the credits rolled, he looked down at her, his eyes wide, "They can't do that."

"They did." She laughed.

"They can't kill him! He's practically the main character!"

"Welcome to _Game of Thrones_." She sat up slightly, "Where you win, or you die."

"But his daughters! What's going to happen to them? I mean they can't do that!" He still couldn't comprehend it.

"See why it's such a good show now?" She asked him.

"How is that good?!"

Raven smirked, "You want to watch the next episode?"

"Yes!" He answered as if it were obvious.

"That's how it's good." She reached forward for the remote.

Natasha walked in, "Sorry to break up date night but do you speak Arabic, Raven?"

"Yeah, why?" She turned to look over the couch at the woman. Steve lowered his arm as it touched her chest, so it went to her waist, uncomfortably shifting.

"My contact at the KGB slipped me this, it was translated…but I don't think I'm reading it right." She handed Raven a file.

Reaching up she took the file and sat down, skimming the words on the page. "The translation was probably off a little bit but I'm sure the gist was right. They sent this to you because there is alien technology in Syria."

"What?" Steve said, his focus completely changed to the file now, "How?"

"Don't know." Natasha answered, "Just know it's weapons."

"Looks like the break is over." Raven sighed getting up from the couch. "Too bad, next episode was the end of season one."

* * *

Natasha came in and gave Raven her earpiece as she finished getting dressed, "Thanks."

"You about ready?" She asked, "I can't wait to see the look on Rogers face."

"Stop it." She laughed, "He's getting better."

"Is he now?" Natasha playfully smirked, "I expect all the dirty details."

"Sorry, I don't kiss and tell." Raven grinned at her.

"Guess I'll just have to walk in on another opportune moment." Natasha left the room.

Steve watched her as she followed Nat out of the room. His chest went tight, it felt like his heart stopped beating. The dark red dress clung to her figure, the slit up the side showing just enough of her leg, the muscles of which were tone and the skin smooth. Her hair was pulled away from her face but fell down the back of her head in loose curls. The row of hanging diamonds from each ear lined her slim neck making it regal yet sultry. Simple black liner in a wing made her eyes more enchanting and her red lips caused his throat to go dry.

He knew she was the only one who spoke Arabic, so she was the only one who could go into the meeting, but he really wished that he was less recognizable then Sam, because he didn't trust any of those men that close to her when she was wearing that.

"How do I look?" She asked the room.

Natasha and Sam both looked at him to answer. He swallowed hard, but his voice still cracked, "Good."

Natasha tried to hide her laughter, but they still heard it. Sam put a hand on his shoulder, "Don't worry Cap, I'll take good care of her. Not that she needs me to."

"You better." Steve looked at him.

"Don't worry." Raven laughed as Sam and Natasha went to finish getting the gear ready. She walked over to him, "Tonight we're just making a deal. There shouldn't be any trouble."

"Since when has that ever happened for us?" He asked.

"True, but normally you or Tony were the ones barging in." She gave him a sly smirk. That shade of red on her would be the death of him. "Things like this are better left to people like me and Nat. They require a gentler touch." He felt her hand sliding up his arm slowly, fingers ghosting over his bicep. Leaning down to her, she put her fingers to his lips stopping him. "You'll smudge my lipstick."

"God that thought hadn't even crossed my mind." He muttered against her fingers, his face turning slightly red. He was getting better at this, being a little less shy. He lowered his voice, "But it kind of makes me want to do it even more now."

She laughed quietly, "Later. When the deals made."

"Yes ma'am." He smiled.

"You two done? Because it's time." Natasha brought them back from their own world.

"Right." Steve stepped away from her, "Remember, make the deal realistic. We just need to know where the weapons are."

"This isn't my first rodeo." She turned to Sam, "You just be stoic and menacing."

"Not a problem." Sam smiled and they headed towards the door.

* * *

_"My clients have very unique enemies."_ She spoke to the man sitting across the table from her.

_"And who might those be?" _He asked. A smile snaked across her face as she drank from the glass of wine and he smiled back at her, "_Ah, I see. I hear only three remain. The others are gone. Surely the last three must be easy to be dealt with."_

_"Not as easy as one might think." _She leaned back in her chair. Sam noticed how this pushed her chest out. He wasn't so blind he didn't see this man eyeing her the entire time. She must be about to crack the deal_. "How much do you pay for each of those weapons?"_

_"One hundred thousand American dollars." _He answered.

_"I will give you five each." _She sipped her wine again, giving her lips a slight lick.

The man leaned into the table, trying to get closer to her, _"That's not enough."_

_"It's enough to buy your own army. Something you don't even have right now to use those weapons." _She smirked,_ "But if you aren't willing to deal, my client can find his weapons somewhere else."_

Standing up to leave the table Sam turned to follow her but the man called out,_ "Wait." _She turned back to look at him, _"Sixty thousand each. Enough to buy new guns for my army."_

_"I'm sure that could be arranged." _She gave him a smile.

_"And a night with you." _He added.

_"I'm make the deals. I'm not a part of them." _She replied.

_"That is the deal. Take it or leave." _He stepped around the table_._

_"How about I tell my client sixty and then you give me twenty-five thousand of each one hundred. Should still be enough for new guns."_

_"I think that can be arranged." _He reached out, his fingers touching her shoulder, gliding in towards her neck.

Sam's hand snapped out, grabbing the Syrian man's wrist. Raven looked from Sam to the man_, "You'll have to forgive him. He's very protective."_

_"He will have to get over it." _A wicked grin came over his face, _"Do we have a deal."_

_"Yes." _She answered, putting her hand over Sams, signaling to release the other man. Grabbing her clutch, she pulled out a card,_ "Call this number with the location. Once I have verified the goods, you'll receive the payment."_

_"And the second part." _His eyes were glued to her chest.

_"Once I receive the payment, you'll get the goods." _She told him._ "I expect to hear from you within the next twenty-four hours or the deal is off."_

Turning she left, Sam following behind her. As they left the large but dark restaurant Sam kept his voice low, "Did you make the deal?"

"Yeah." She answered, "You should be more careful though. Men like that don't take well to being touched."

"Yeah well, I didn't take well to him touching you." He told her.

"What deal did he take?" Natasha asked since Steve had frozen at the fact a man had touched her. If it was enough for Sam to step in, he knew that it wasn't a handshake.

"He wanted sixty thousand for each of them." She said as they passed out onto the street.

"That's it?" Natasha couldn't believe it. It was too easy.

"Nope, wants to sleep with me too."

Sam's head snapped to her, "See this is why I grabbed him when he touched you."

"I know Sam, thank you for being menacing." She laughed at him.

* * *

She walked into the shabby hotel room that was hers and Steve was already in there and she smiled, "Man, when I said later, you really took that to heart didn't you?"

"Why would you make a deal like that?" He walked up to her.

"You mean a fake one to get the intel on where the Chitauri weapons are?" She raised an eyebrow. Realizing what he was talking about she chuckled walking up to him, her hands landing on his shoulders, "Steve, I have never and would never sell myself to get a job done. We're finding out the location of the weapons before any sort of transfer is made."

"See you didn't say that." He sighed, relieved at the fact that she hadn't put herself in a position like that.

"There are a lot of things I'd do on a job. Sex isn't one of them." She took his cheek. "Especially considering I'm waiting patently for someone special to come along."

He couldn't stop the smile that tugged at his lips. She had been really understanding about him wanting to wait. In the twenty first century waiting until marriage was rare, and it not something he was sure he would do, but he wanted to wait until he was sure. Not that he wasn't sure about her because he did really care about her, and he did see a future with her. He just didn't want them to be on the run or have to hide to start a life together. But that didn't mean that they couldn't –

"You're over thinking it again." She smiled at him, "Steve, you'll know when you're ready. And I like you for more than just your body, so I'm fine with that."

"I'm glad you like my mind too." He put his forehead against hers.

"Oh, and we can't forget about the humility and chivalry." She teased.

Steve's hands wrapped around her waist, "Where did he touch you?"

"No where important." She could feel his mouth getting closer to hers.

"Every where's important." His hand reached up to undo the pin in her hair, letting the locks fall loose.

"Just my shoulder." Raven answered.

Steve's mouth avoided hers and went to her shoulder. He peppered light kisses along the skin around the strap of her dress. Moving along her skin he made his way up her neck and to her ear. He could feel her fingers holding him tightly and he whispered, "See, every where's important."

"Did you google that while I was in there or was that just you?" She muttered with a smile as he still kissed the skin of her neck.

"Well I didn't google it." Raven could hear the grin in his voice. She took his face, moving his lips to hers.

* * *

She walked into the warehouse that held the weapons. Wearing normal clothes to not catch as much attention in this area now, but also to cover her suit for when the inevitable fight broke out, she walked up to the man she had had dinner with two days before. _"I need to see them before the money gets transferred."_

The man opened the box in front of him revealing a gun that she saw part of a Chitauri blaster on, if anyone would recognize it, it was her. Looking at Sam she nodded, and he left the room to alert the others. The man smiled, walking over to her, his hand going to her waist. _"You've got yours. Now I get mine."_

_"I regret to inform you, this doesn't have a happy ending._" She smiled at him as she stepped away from him.

_"We had a deal!"_ The man yelled.

_"Yes, we did. But since I don't have a client, you don't have the money to pay me." _Steve, Sam, and Natasha were at her back now and the fight ensued. Her clothes burned off as men started shooting at them all throughout the warehouse. Steve tossed her up to the rafters and she took care of them.

The man who was selling them the weapons hid behind his bodyguards as the fight went on. Steve made his way through the men and as there were less and less, he narrowed in on the seller. Raven landed back down on the main floor as Steve took out his bodyguards. The man cowered and looked at Raven, yelling, "_You'll pay for this!"_

_"I already have." _She told him before Steve whacked him to the side with his shield.

"No one touches her but me." He muttered to himself, but she heard it.

"Little rough don't you think?" Sam tried not to smirk.

"Maybe it'll teach him to act right." Steve came back over.

Raven held back her smile as regrouped. Once they were sure the place was empty, Natasha called Fury while Sam did an inventory of everything. She looked at Steve, "You know, you can't beat up every guy that looks at me or touches me like that."

"Nope, but I can try." He said looking down in the box that was open with the weapon.

"I'll be sure to have a front row seat." She moved to start tying up the guards, "It's kinda hot seeing you jealous."

* * *

**A/N: For some reason I'm enjoying putting Steve into modern day situations with like TV shows and stuff like that. Not sure why because it's also very weird to think about haha. Let me know what you guys think :)**


	16. Chapter 16

They were in Lebanon now. Raven and Wanda were in the kitchen doing the dishes after dinner, it was their turn. She asked, "So how are things with you and Vision going?"

"They're…good." Wanda thought about it but the smile on her face told Raven that it was more than good.

"It's been over a year now that you two have been meeting up every so often." She looked at the girl, "How long are you going to keep it like that?"

"It's not like I can go back to HQ." Wanda said, "And I don't know that he can really go missing to be here with us."

"I never said be here with us." Raven smirked.

"What do you mean?" Her forehead creased.

"I mean I know what it's like trying to be in a relationship with others constantly around." She told her, "And with one like yours I can imagine it's even harder. You've proven you can successfully hide in plain sight out there for a few weeks at a time, so why not do it permanently…together?"

"Is that what the two of you are thinking of doing?" Wanda asked.

"No." She shook her head, "Steve would never go for it and honestly…neither would I anymore." Raven leaned against the counter, slinging the towel over her shoulder, "But you don't do every little mission with us, you could only come when we need someone with your abilities. Other than that, you can go and have as much time with him as you want."

"I could." Wanda nodded slowly, thinking about it.

"I would just want to know where you were and be updated so that way, we can contact you if need be considering the accords are still in effect." Raven told her, "I don't see any reason why you should have to sit here and be bored most of the time when you two could be being bored together."

"I'll talk to him about it next time we're together." Wanda smiled at her, "Thank you. I know that if it weren't for you, I wouldn't be allowed to go and see him."

"Thanks. I guess it's similar for me. I trust you." She shrugged, "I trust in your ability to not be found. That's all their really worried about. They don't want to see you get taken away again. I don't think we could break onto the Raft a second time."

She laughed, "No I don't think you could." Wanda hesitated before looking at Raven, "So…is this what having a sister is like? Because Pietro would never have been okay with this."

"You know, I'm not sure." Raven thought about it, "I never had a sister before either."

* * *

His fingers gently ran over her hair, his lips against the skin of her forehead. She'd fallen asleep against his chest while they watched the movie and it didn't bother him one bit, it was one of the most comfortable positions he could ever be in. She shifted slightly in his arms and he couldn't help but smile. Steve laid there with her, unable to believe that six years before they were enemies, fighting against each other. They might have stayed that way if he'd never learned the truth about S.H.I.E.L.D., then he would have never had her at all, and he couldn't imagine what his life would be like without her.

He heard a cell phone ringing in the other room and wondered if he needed to get it, but he really didn't want to wake her up. The ringing stopped and he heard Sam answering it. A few seconds later he was in the room, "Steve we gotta find Wanda and Vision. Now."

The seriousness in the mans voice told him that it was an emergency and he nudged Raven, "Hey, Raven, you need to wake up."

"Hmm?" She moved her head, before sitting up slightly to look at him, "What's up? 'Nother job?"

"Where are Wanda and Vision?" He asked her.

"Glasgow." She told him.

"I'll get Nat and the jet." Sam left the room.

On the jet Sam told the four of them what Bruce, who was here now somehow, had told him. That an alien called Thanos was coming for the Infinity Stones, and that he was powerful. On the way they saw the news about New York, that Tony was missing. When they neared Glasgow, they couldn't find Wandas signature or anything similar to Vision. Nat said she found a bogie over Edinburgh though and so that's where they went, and that's where they found their two friends.

The two aliens were easy enough to dispatch and as Raven checked Wandas head to make sure she was alright, she saw a flash of gold in her peripheral vision. Her head snapped towards it. Wanda asked, "What is it?"

"Nothing, just making sure we're clear." She turned back to the girl. "I thought we had an agreement. You would update me anytime you moved locations."

"We just wanted to visit. We were only here for a few days then we were going back to Glasgow tomorrow." Wanda explained as they made their way back to the ship.

"I understand, but if we hadn't of spotted their ship on radar, we might not have found you." She told her.

"I'm sorry." Wanda's voice dropped.

"You don't have to be sorry." Raven sighed, "Just be careful. Okay?"

"Yeah. Okay." Wanda smiled slightly at her, she knew the other woman wasn't mad at her, just worried.

Steve had told Sam to take them home and when the plane took off, he saw Raven fidgeting with her sleeves. Walking over, he sat down next to her, "You okay?"

"What?" She looked at him, "Yeah, yeah I'm fine."

"Are you sure." He leaned in, "It's me, you don't have to hide."

"I know." She gave him a small smile, "It's just aliens…again."

"Makes you think of New York?" He asked and she nodded. Steve took the side of her head and kissed her temple, "It's nothing like New York."

"Not yet." She muttered.

"Not unless you swap sides." He told her, "Which I know you won't do."

"No." She shook her head, "That won't happen at all."

"I know." He smiled.

* * *

"Thanos has the biggest army in the universe and he's not going to stop until he gets that stone." Bruce told them, "We barely defeated him last time."

"Last time?" Raven stepped forwards.

"New York." Bruce told her, his expression softening, "That was him. He's the one behind Loki."

Steve looked over at Raven as her face paled. He could see she felt guilty again. Vision broke the silence saying they should destroy the stone. She stayed quiet, although she agreed with Wanda and Steve that Vision shouldn't give up his life. Not him.

When the conversation was over, and they were prepping to go to Wakanda she slipped away, just for a moment. She needed a second to process everything. Standing in her old room she looked around, it felt like another life when she had stayed there. Arms slipped around her waist from behind, "You said you were fine."

"I am." She turned in his arms. "Just sorting out a lot of information we just got."

Steve nodded, "Yeah, I know. But it's going to be okay."

"How can you be sure?" She looked up at him, "How do you know that this time-"

"This time and last time are completely different. Last time was Loki, that's it." He didn't want her thinking about how the two situations were similar.

"And this time?" She asked.

"This time there are more of us." He told her. "This time we're going to be all fighting together. This time we're going to get the mind stone out of Vision, then we're going to destroy it."

"How can you be so damn confident and positive all the time?" A small smile graced her lips, "I don't know if it's annoying or attractive."

"Hopefully attractive." He smirked, "We're going to win. And I plan on doing it with you at my side. So, are you ready?"

Leaning up she pressed her lips to his, "Let's go kick some alien ass."

* * *

When they got to Wakanda they were greeted by T'Challa. As they informed them of the situation Bucky came up. Steve gave him a hug and then he looked at Raven, "Heard you got the stuff out of your head."

"Yeah." She gave him a smile, "You?"

"Yeah." He nodded.

"Good. I'm glad." She stayed outside with him and Sam as Steve and the others took Vision to the lab.

"Do you think they can do it?" Sam asked.

"No idea, that is not my department." Raven smirked.

Bucky looked at them, "If anyone could do it, it's these people. Their tech is unreal."

They waited outside and when a ship came into view they watched as it slammed against the dome. Seeing other ships landing outside of it, they knew they were going to have a big fight on their hands. When the others came back out, they got on ships that lead them to the edge of the dome. Raven went with Steve and T'Challa to the edge of the shield. The woman alien spoke, "Thanos will have that stone, no matter what you put in our way."

"Yeah, that's not going to happen." Raven told her.

"You are in Wakanda now." T'Challa said, "Thanos will have nothing but dust and blood."

"We have blood to spare." The woman smiled at them.

As they turned to leave, they all stopped in their tracks as Raven came face to face with Loki. Steve went to move on him, but she stopped him, "It's alright, it's just a projection."

"You know me so well." Loki smiled at her.

"Not as well as I thought." She said.

"I looked for you, I could not find you though."

"Liar." She stepped forward.

He breathed out a laugh, "You always were good at seeing right through me." He smiled even wider, "I owe you many thanks, Raven. Without you, none of this would have happened." Steve looked at her as her fists clenched, her jaw set tight. "Join me once again, let us make this rock ours."

"No." She told him.

"You think because you are with them it makes you one of them now?" He quirked an eyebrow, "That's not how it works and you know it. Deep down inside of you is still the hate and rage from before."

"You don't know me at all." She told him, "You never did."

"You promised-"

She cut him off, her voice shaking and rage filled, "Yeah, well so did you. But you broke that promise. And today you're breaking another one. Today you're going to die."

Steve watched as she walked towards Loki only to walk through him, the projection disappearing.

* * *

They were surrounded, the fighting was thick. Raven released a heat blast from her body roasting all the aliens around her. When the wave was over Loki was standing in front of her. He smiled, "Last chance."

"Bastard!" She yelled charging him. She shot fire at him as she ran and he dodged, a look of shock on his face, "I told you, you don't know me anymore."

"Clearly not." He pulled out his daggers throwing them at her. She avoided them. They knew each other's styles well. He was able to withstand her flames and she wasn't affected by his weapons. Thor arrived and it distracted neither of them. Loki tried getting the alien creatures to attack her, but she just burned them all. He muttered, "I tire of you now."

"Same." She spit back but then was stabbed in the back by the woman, the four prongs lifting her into the air. A scream exited her. It hurt worse than anything she had felt before.

The blades left her body as the woman was sent flying into the air. Loki was flung a different direction. Wanda caught her as she fell, "Raven! Are you alright?"

"Fine." She muttered, her hand over the wounds. "Why are you out here?"

"I saw you getting hurt. You're bleeding! How aren't you healing?" Wanda became even worried.

"Guess if they're weapons are good enough to hurt Vision, they're good enough to hurt me too." Raven told her. "Come on. The others need us."

Wanda nodded and they were back in the battle. They got separated in the fight and she was jumped on and rolled out of the way as one of the saws cut above her. Steve smiled, "You need to pay better attention."

"Clearly." She smiled back and he noticed the blood.

"Raven." His eyes grew wide, she never bled for more than a second.

"I'm fine." She stood up and he went with her.

"Guys! Vision needs back up now!" Bruce yelled.

Raven and Steve shared a look. She smirked, "Go get him. I'll clear you a path."

Letting out a yell she fired her flames as hard as she could in front of them and Steve ran for it once they were gone. She turned back to the main fight and continued lighting a blaze. Wanda landed next to her, "You up for it?"

Raven smirked, "Hell yeah."

She aimed her fire at Wanda and the girl took control of it, a tornado of fire crossing the battlefield. They didn't stop, they kept it going until they heard Steve, "Everyone on my position. He's here."

Wanda stopped the assault and was gone in an instant and Raven was running at top speed behind her. She was still bleeding, but she didn't care. When she got there Bruce was charging at who she assumed was Thanos because he was large and purple and had a gauntlet with the other stones. She charged him with the others, firing at him but he put up a barrier to deflect them.

He tried to hit her back with the power stone, and she fell to her knees. Steve slid under his arm and grabbed the gauntlet stopping him. Thanos tried to push him forward but Steve held him there. When the alien punched him so hard that he hit the ground and wasn't moving she let out a scream, getting back to her feet. She charged at him, her body growing hotter. Her steps left scorch marks on the ground beneath them. Thanos tried again to push her back with the stone again, but it didn't work this time. When she made it to him, she grabbed the gauntlet with one hand, her body glowing a deep blue.

Attempting to hit her she put an arm up blocking him. Rage filled her. She had to buy Wanda the time to destroy the stone that was still in Vision and that made her madder than almost anything else. The man looked down at her, impressed almost, but he grabbed her hands that were holding him and smashed his head into hers. Blood seeped from her forehead her sight was going blurry, legs caving slightly, but she refused to stop. Steve still wasn't moving. Thanos picked up his leg and kicked her in the stomach, launching her back, past Wanda and Vision.

She watched as the girl now held Thanos back with her powers while also destroying the stone. It shattered. She felt horrible for Wanda, having to do that but then her eyes widened as Thanos did something, undoing what the girl just did. He knocked Wanda back as he reached for Vision. She struggled to get up, to try and stop him again. Or to get to Wanda, the poor girl.

Thanos took the stone, putting it with the others on his hand. He was knocked back by lightening. Thor had finally gotten there again. Raven crawled, trying to get to Wanda who was now by Visions body. She pulled herself to the girl, an arm around her. She had understood what the girl had felt like when she lost her brother, but this, she didn't know anything about it. Wanda leaned into her as she cried. And Raven held her.

Raven held her until she felt the girl start to get smaller. Her eyes shook, staring as she became dust in the air. She yelled the girls name. "NO! WANDA!"

She felt something in her eyes as she heard others start yelling people names too. Tears. Steve ran over to her and saw the fear and confusion on her face. She shook her head at him, it can't have happened. It couldn't have.

This was the first time Steve had ever seen her cry. Of all the ways he could have imagined it, it wasn't like this. He watched as her body began go glow again. Her fists were clenched as she stood up. Her hair went blue, her whole body shaking. As she walked away from all of them her footprints burned into the ground once again.

Raven made her way back to the battlefield. Only half of their army and the dead remained. But she saw him. Black hair, green and gold clothing. He stood out like a beacon to her. She ran at him. A rage filled scream leaving her as she held up her fist, punching him harder than she had punched anyone before, his body sliding against the ground as it hit. "WHERE IS HE?"

"Who?" He smirked as he sat up from the ground.

"You know who, you fucking useless waste of life!" She shot beams at him.

Two shields entered the beams and Steve yelled, "Raven stop!"

"Get out of my way Steve!" She yelled at him but stopped firing at him.

He put his arms down to look at her, "You won't hurt me."

"No." She stepped closer. Her lip was quivering, her body still super-heated, "But I'm going to kill him."

"This isn't the way." Thor said, "Killing Loki now will not help."

"You don't understand." She looked around her at all of the others, "None of you understand!"

"Raven." Steve moved in closer to her, "We'll get her back. We'll get them all back."

He reached out to her cheek and that part of her body dropped in temperature. Seeing this he moved in closer putting her arms around her. She wrapped her arms around him, her body no longer glowing, but instead tears pouring out of her eyes. She muttered, "You don't understand."

* * *

**A/N: So I know this one chapter was all of Infinity War, but I didn't want to add stuff that I didn't really think wasn't necessary and there just wasn't a good spot to break it up. Apologies for that. I've also been kinda out of it lately, so sorry if it's not the best or I missed some edits haha. Be sure to let me know what you guys think!**


	17. Chapter 17

They were back at HQ. Steve walked into Wandas room to see Raven still sitting on her bed. He walked in and sat down next to her. "I miss her too. But we're going to get them back."

"Please." She couldn't even look at him, her voice shaking, "Please stop."

"I guess you find the confidence and positive attitude annoying then." He didn't have a joking tone, it was flat, just like most of theirs were in the week since it happened. They had all been focused on trying to account for the missing. Anyone they knew, they were trying to find out. All but Raven, everyone she had she already knew about. She just stayed in Wanda's room most of the time. She hadn't spoken to much of anyone since Loki had been apprehended. Steve didn't know what to say because he didn't know what to do, he'd been so sure they would win like they always did. He put his hand on her shoulder and she slid out of it's reach. He whispered, "Raven."

"Don't. Don't comfort me. Not right now." Her voice was strained. She was on the brink of tears again.

"Then what do you want me to do?" He asked.

"Just…" She hated herself, "I just want to be alone."

"Alright." He stood from the bed. It felt as if he'd lost her too. Leaving the room everyone looked at him as he came back out into the common area. He stopped, "She…she just needs time."

"Don't all of us?" Rhodey asked.

"I think Loki brought up some painful memories for her." Thor said, "He did for me too. Plus losing Wanda, and in general…It is hitting her harder than anything must have ever."

"She's strong." Natasha looked at Steve, "She'll pull through."

"Yeah." He nodded, "Yeah she will."

* * *

Raven was leaving her room. It was late. No one else was awake. This was the only time when no one was trying to be around her. Hearing something, she stopped. It was Sam's voice. Making her way towards it she realized she'd heard it before, what he was saying. Then she heard Steve and her own voice. She followed the sounds and stopped outside of Steve's office. He was watching videos of when they had been training them. She heard him sniffle and her chest hurt.

He was missing them too. He was in pain too. He'd tried to be there for her, but she couldn't let him be. Not after what she did. But she could comfort him at least. He deserved it. Knocking on the door she heard slight shuffling before she opened it and saw him wiping his eyes. Seeing her, a small smile ghosted over his face. She gave him what little of a smile she could manage, "You shaved."

"I told you I would." He stood.

"Yeah…yeah you did." She walked into the office, "How…how are you doing?"

"I'm…" He looked at the screen. "I'm dealing."

"I'm sorry." She almost laughed, "I'm really bad at this. I don't really know how to actually comfort people."

"It's okay." His face crumpled and they moved towards each other, embracing in the middle as he started to cry again. He held her tight. "We lost."

"I'm so sorry." She cupped the back of his head, holding it against her shoulder.

"I could have lost you too." He pulled away and looked down at her, "You've never been that hurt before and…and-"

"Shh." She wiped his tears, "I'm okay. Nothing happened to me…"

"I love you." He said before she continued.

Her face fell. This was a mistake. She shouldn't have knocked on his door. She should have just walked away. She started shaking her head, "Steve. No…You can't."

"I do." He held her tight as she tried to back away from him, "Raven I was so scared. I'm still scared. I don't know what to do right now, but I know that I love you."

"No." Her face contorted as she tried to fight the tears, "You shouldn't love me. I don't deserve it at all."

"Yes. Yes, you do. You tried. You tried so hard despite being hurt. You fought him off from the stone as long as possible." He cupped her face, "You didn't lose, not alone. We all did. So please. Please stop doing this to yourself. Because I love you and I hate seeing you torture yourself."

"I'm sorry." She pulled out of his grasp, leaving the office.

* * *

Some woman, Carol Danvers, had showed up, a response to Fury's pager. She told them who she was and then they told her about what happened and Tony still being missing. Rocket had been able to locate the ship, but they had no way to retrieve it, but Carol said she could, and she was gone again. It took another few days, but she came back. With Tony.

He needed a wheelchair and IV from being so long without food or water. They all sat in the debrief room while they updated him on what happened while he was gone. Steve asked Tony if he knew anything about where Thanos could have gone, what he might do next. "I saw this coming, a few years back. I had a vision. I didn't want to believe it. Thought I was dreaming."

"Tony I'm going to need you to focus." Steve said.

"And I needed you." Tony looked at him, "As in past tense, that trumps what you need. It's too late buddy. Sorry." He started trying to stand, "You know what I need? I need to shave." He started taking out his IV, "You know I remember telling all of you, alive and other wise, that we needed a suit of armor around the world, remember that? Whether it impacted our precious freedoms or not. That's what we needed."

Raven could feel her stomach starting to knot up. Steve told Tony, "Well that didn't work out did it?"

"I said we'd lose. You said, 'We'll do that together too.' Guess what Cap, we lost." Tonys voice shook and Raven began to feel sick, "And you weren't there. That's when we do our best work, right? After the fact? We're the Avengers, not the Prevengers."

Tony kept going despite the fact that Rhodey was trying to stop him. When he called Steve a lair she couldn't anymore. "Stop it!"

They all turned to look at her. It was one of the only things she'd said to all of them. Her lip quivered, "It's not his fault."

"Not his fault?" Tony stepped towards her, "Really? Because who-"

"Its mine!" She yelled. "It's my fault."

"Raven." Steve hated her doing this.

"No, it's true." Her eyes trembled and her breathing shook. "I…I made Loki leave. I'm the one that told him we needed something more." No one said anything as it all finally spilled out of her, everything she'd held in since the battle, "After…After he got banished from Asgard he came to me…He said something else was pulling him, but he came to me. I'm the one that told him to go and find it. I'm the reason he went to Thanos. I'm the reason that he got the scepter and then the Tesseract. I'm the reason for what happened in New York. I'm the reason everyone is gone! It's all my fault."

They all stared at her. She couldn't look at Steve, she didn't want to see the way he was looking at her. All of their eyes felt like fire, and not the fire she was used too. Turning on her heal she left the room.

* * *

Steve gave Raven time, but not a lot before he went into her room. She was packing her things, "Where are you planning to go? The guilt will just follow you."

"I know but at least if I'm alone I can't do any more damage." Her heart shattered at his words, but she knew they were coming, that they were true, and she deserved them.

He walked over to her, taking her by the shoulders and kissing her. After he said, "The only place you're going is with us to kill Thanos and reverse this."

"What?" She said.

"You heard me. We're going to fix this. Get Wanda and the others back and then everything will go back to the way it was." He told her, "Then you'll see you didn't do anything wrong."

"Why can't you just hate me?" She muttered.

"Because, I don't hate you." He put his forehead to hers. "I don't hate you because your kind, and caring, and you save people. Because you're a good person. You aren't the reason any of this happened. If Loki didn't want to go, he wouldn't have."

"Steve, I'm the worst of us." She told him.

"Are you?" Natasha said at the door, "I used to work for the KGB, I've killed innocent people. Tony used to make weapons and profit from war." The two of them looked at her, "Sorry, I didn't mean to kill the heart to heart, I was just walking by and heard a lie."

"Thank you." Steve said to her.

"You had no idea what Loki would find out there." Natasha walked into the room, "Now are you going to keep sitting here in made up guilt that Loki threw on you, or are you going to help us kill Thanos and get half the universe back?"

"Even if I do, it doesn't make up for what I've done." She said, "Loki was right. He said that I'm still the rage filled, hateful person I was back then. I proved him right when I tried to kill him."

"Really? Because a person like that doesn't make it her job to find two kids who were experimented on by HYDRA to help them. Or jump off a falling heli-carrier to save someone's life." Steve held her face with his palm, making her look at him, "Or stay on a flying city to make sure that it doesn't fall to the earth and kill everyone on the planet. Run into a burning building without hesitation to save the people inside. And I've seen you do all those things and more. So how the hell are you so bad? How could someone hate a person that selfless?"

Raven looked away from him, "I'll go, only to make up for causing it."

* * *

Thor killed Thanos. The stones were destroyed. There was no fixing it anymore.


	18. Chapter 18

"I can't say I'm surprised," Loki smiled at her through the glass, "you coming to visit me here."

She didn't say anything, she just stared at him as he watched her, that wide self-assured grin on his face. Her expression was flat, her eyes locked on his. When he created a projection outside of his cell it walked around her, dressed to the nines in his usual attire, not the prison uniform he was in. Raven didn't look at it though, "You really think I'm going to have a conversation with that thing?"

"You must admit, it's much better than these rags I'm being forced in." He motioned to the blue clothes.

Taking him in she almost couldn't help but laugh, "Look at us, both left behind by our previous masters only to get thrown into a prison once again."

"Is that why you wish to kill me?" He looked at her, "They got you after I escaped."

"When you disappeared, they became quite persistent about where you went. So tell me," She stepped towards the glass, "Where did you go?"

"Back to Thanos, I had the Tesseract, which is what he wanted." Loki answered, sitting down on the bench in his small room, "That is where I stayed, I wasn't allowed the freedoms I had assumed I would have, since I had left the scepter behind, but it was better than a cell on Asgard. I do regret not having found you though. You would have been a great ally in this with your new abilities. We would truly be able to rule this world."

"No. I didn't get these powers until after I'd gotten what I wanted. You promised me revenge and protection as long as I was loyal to you." She leaned against the wall, "Do you remember that?"

"Yes, it was before we were together for the first time." The corner of his lip turned up, "Tell me, have you stayed loyal to me in that aspect at least?"

"I haven't stayed loyal to you at all." She told him.

"I don't believe you." He stated simply.

Unbuttoning the top of her pants she pushed the waistband low enough to show her thigh, where the mark from him once was, but now it was just normal skin, "It was gone long before I found someone else."

He swallowed hard, no smirk on his face, "Why did you come here then?"

"Because you were right, I don't belong with them." She looked around the area of the Raft she was in, "But I don't think I belong here with you either anymore."

"Then where do you belong?" He asked her.

"Alone. Like I was before you found me." She turned, leaving the prison.

* * *

Steve hadn't seen Raven in over a month. She left the moment they got back from killing Thanos. He'd called her and messaged her every day, some days more than once. He had an idea of where she was, but he knew that if he went, it would just be worse. "Tony's recovered completely. And Carol left yesterday. I probably already told you that…I hope you're doing alright. I love you."

He shut the phone and sighed, his hand running over his face.

"She'll come back." Natasha's voice entered his ears, "You said it yourself, she just needs time."

"Yeah." He nodded, "Yeah I know."

* * *

Raven sat curled up on her couch in Seoul. The blanket was tight around her and the room was completely dark except for the TV. She watched it every night. She could get stations from around the globe now, the providers needing to fill empty channels. As she flipped the BBC was doing a special on the people who had vanished. That's what they were calling them, the people that were gone. The Vanished. She knew better though. The dead. The ones whose blood was on her hands.

She watched it and realized that it was about the people who had fought Thanos in the Battle of Wakanda. They were doing it about them. A biography on each of them. They started with T'Challa and his sister Shuri. They were both royalty, the should be first. She watched them talk about the two starting an outreach center for the people in Oakland, and then others in different cities. Neither of them deserved to be gone.

Next was Bucky. They talked about his World War II service and they were sure to mention he was framed for the bombing of the UN. Steve was missing his best friend. Her phone beeped and she saw a new voicemail from Steve. As much as she wanted to listen to them, she couldn't. They were to painful at this point. She turned her attention back to the screen where they were still talking about Bucky. A small smile came across her face, remembering him trying to threaten her. She knew he was doing his best considering she could easily beat him in a fight, but he still wanted to make sure she would never hurt his best friend. She still would never hurt him.

Her heart stopped. She was hurting him. By not being there after all of this. By leaving. She'd hurt him. It's why he called every day. It's why he updated her on what all was going on. Because he needed her, and she wasn't there. And what he needed was more important to her than anything else.

She flung the blanket off of her.

* * *

Steve stood in his room, packing up his clothes. He'd finally been able to get his apartment in Brooklyn. Rent had gone way down. Before he left, he would send Raven a message with his address for when she came back. Grabbing his shirts from the dresser he turned to put them in his suitcase when he saw her standing in his door, "Ra-"

"I love you too." She said, unable to stop it the moment she saw him.

His feet moved with out him knowing it, the shirts being dropped on the ground, and she met him in the middle. His arms went around her as their lips met. He muttered against her lips, "I knew you'd come back."

"I didn't mean to hurt you." She looked at him, "I promised Bucky I wouldn't."

"I've been so worried about you." He held her tight.

"I know. I'm sorry." She held him too. "I wanted to punish myself and the only way I could do that was being away from the only thing that makes me happy. I didn't mean to punish you too."

"It doesn't matter." He whispered, "You're here now."

"I'm so sorry." Her voice cracked, "If I hadn't of helped Loki, if I hadn't of told him to leave so we could get the Tesseract-"

"No, Raven, stop. We can't go back. That stuff doesn't matter how you think it does. If Loki had wanted to stay with you, he would have stayed, but he didn't he wanted power and revenge more."

"So did I." She looked up at him and he cupped her cheek, "Steve all I wanted was to kill everyone involved in any way with my brother's death. I forced him to go."

"You really think you forced him to do anything? A man like that?" He gave her a slight smile, "You're convincing, but someone like him is hard to sway." Steve pulled her head to his chest, "One way or another, this would have happened…One way or another Thanos would have worked on completing his mission and you had no effect on that whatsoever. Loki's guilting you for something he did to you. He left you behind, he left you to take the fall here on Earth for everything that happened, and maybe somewhere deep down he does feel guilty about the fact that he didn't rescue you…but if he had…if things had been different, then I wouldn't have you in my arms right now. And that's not something I want to even think about."

"Sometimes it's annoying, but right now I really like your positive attitude." She leaned into him, reveling in the warmth of him, a warmth she missed. This was the best she'd felt since Thanos had snapped, this was what she'd been avoiding, but this is what she needed. Comfort.

"I missed you." He muttered, his lips against the top of her head. "Stay. Stay with me."

"I'm never leaving you again."

He laughed softly, slightly nervous, "No, I mean…I got an apartment in Brooklyn, that's where I was heading. It still needs some furniture and to stop off at the store first, but I already have a bed…"

"A…are you asking me to stay the night?" Her eyes widened slightly as she looked up at him, "Even after…"

"I didn't know how long it'd be until I saw you again." He swallowed, nervously, "I've wanted to be with you for a long time Raven and I was worried that I may have waited too long again. So, will you stay with me tonight…and forever?"

She felt her face flush for the first time in a long time when it came to him, but she nodded slowly as a smile crept across her face, "Yes."

* * *

Their bodies were pressed together as they stood in the practically empty bedroom. He'd been waiting for this moment longer than just since she left for Korea, even before Thanos came back, but he didn't want to be in a safe house with other people. He didn't want any chance of them getting interrupted. Here they wouldn't.

Her fingers grazed the hem of his shirt before she lifted it off of him. His mouth was back on hers as he led her over to the bed. He took her shirt off before lying her down on the bed and moving on top of her. She smiled at his confidence as he kissed down her neck, reaching behind her to unhook her bra.

He fiddled with it for a moment before looking at her, "How does that work?"

"Here." She laughed gently, sitting up slightly to unhook it, "It takes practice."

"Guess I'll have to do that then." He smiled as he moved back to her neck, pulling the straps from her shoulders. He kissed down her skin and felt her fingers grip him tight as he reached her chest, lips finding the erect bud.

She moaned quietly as he began sucking on her, her fingers combing through his hair. He wrapped an arm around her while massaging her other breast with his other hand. Ravens leg ran up his thigh, their hips flush, and she moved against him. Now he let out a moan as their hips ground together. Her hands moved between them, working on the buttons of his jeans and he felt his stomach go tight with her so close to him. She pushed his pants off of him, her hands moving over his ass and he kicked them off the rest of the way as he moved down her stomach.

Steve now worked on her pants, better at this than her bra. Sitting back, he pulled them from her. His face flushed seeing her laying there, pretty much completely naked under him. He'd always thought she was beautiful but seeing her like this gave him a whole new definition of the word. Lying back down on top of her he looked into her steel grey eyes, moving a small lock of hair off her forehead.

She could feel his heart beating through his chest as it touched hers. Reaching up, she cupped his cheek, "I've never…I've never felt like this with someone before."

"Do…do you want to wait then?" He asked. He would completely understand if she did after everything that's happened. Steve didn't want her to be doing this purely for him.

"No. Do you?" Raven looked up at him. This was the last thing she wanted him to regret doing.

"No." He shook his head, "I've wanted this for a while."

"Me too." She pulled him back down to her mouth. Their kiss was slow, their tongues dancing. They had all night now. They didn't have to worry about a job coming up, they didn't have to worry about someone needing one of them, they had the whole night while the world tried to recover.

His hands explored her sides while hers explored his back. She could feel him growing against her through his underwear and her stomach went tight, the heat between her legs building. Reaching between them she slid her hand under the fabric. He stiffened as her hand wrapped around him, his breath shuttering at the immense feeling of pleasure. His head fell to her shoulder as she stroked him, if this felt this good, what would the other part of her feel like, and how the hell would he move with that kind of feeling?

Using her other hand, she moved his underwear off of him and when she stopped moving her hand around him to get the other side off, his hands went to her panties. He was throbbing at this point and he knew he needed her. As he started to remove them from her, she could tell how nervous he actually was despite how well he was trying hiding it.

Reaching over he took the condom from the bedside table. He had trouble opening it, his hand shaking slightly, and she took his hand, "Do you want me to do it?"

"No. I got it." He swallowed, not selling it as much as he wanted to.

"Steve." She smiled at him, "It's okay, it's just me."

He knew she could tell and released the square wrapper into her grasp. Sitting up slightly she pressed her lips to his and gently pushed him on his back. She straddled his hips and unwrapped the condom, sliding it on to him. He gripped her hips tight, knowing what was coming next but having no idea at all what it would be like.

"Are you sure?" She checked with him again, "I won't be upset or anything."

"No, I know." He gave her a small, nervous smile, "I'm fine. Just…not sure what to expect."

"I'll show you." She slid herself down onto him and he moaned at the heat and tightness of her. It was better than her hand. A lot better. Raven steadied, it'd been a long time for her, and he felt amazing inside of her, filling her completely. His fingers were tight around her hips and she cupped his face, "You alright?"

"Yeah." He breathed out, "Yeah, I'm better than alright."

"Okay." She smiled, kissing him as she began moving on top of him, another pleasure filled moan coming from him.

His hand slid up her back, holding her close to him as their breathing became hard through the kisses and movement. Sweat began to bubble on their skin as he got used to the rhythm and pleasure. Raven could feel herself getting close because of this position, he was hitting her in exactly the right spot. Her fingers gripped at his shoulders, a moan escaping her as she began to tighten around him.

A pleasure filled gasp left him at this feeling and he knew what had just happened. Holding her tightly he rolled them back over, so he was on top of her now and he began thrusting into her. Her thighs still gripped his hips as she arched to him. Moving slightly faster now their breathing became pants as the years of wanting each other came out. Their kisses were deep, and they held each other tight.

Raven couldn't help but be a little surprised that he had lasted this long, but she wasn't complaining as she came again. He took her hip in his hand, now being able to get all the way inside of her. She quietly moaned his name as his head moved to her shoulder, he was being so gentle, yet he was giving her so much pleasure. It was like no other sex she'd ever had.

"I love you." He breathed out against her skin, "I love you so much."

"I love you too." She spoke back, her fingers combing through his hair. She really did, she had never known what it felt like to love someone like this before, and she was an idiot for thinking she could have ever walked away from him for too long.

He felt like he was about to explode, his length inside of her throbbing with every thrust. Not wanting it to end he tried to hold off, but he couldn't, she felt to amazing. "Raven…I-I-"

"It's okay." She said whispered, "It's okay."

A moan of pure pleasure escaped him as he came, his arms tightening even more around her. They both laid there, bodies slick against each other as they caught their breath. Steve made his way back to her mouth, kissing her slowly for a long time.

Afterwards they laid in bed, her head on his chest and his arm around her and she looked up at him, a smirk on her face and he knew a typical smart-ass comment was coming. She asked, "You sure that was your first time?"

"Yeah, why?" He couldn't wait to hear this.

She shrugged, "Guess when they upgraded you, they gave you stamina for more than just the battlefield."

"That good, huh?" He couldn't stop himself.

"Oh, I might go missing again if I know that's the homecoming I'm going to get." She laughed as his grip around her waist held her tight. "Joking, I'm staying right here."

He smiled as she nuzzled against his chest, her fingers stroking his skin next to her face gently. Placing a kiss to the top of her head he said, "Yeah, you are."

* * *

**A/N: I apologize that it's been so long! I went on (a much needed) vacation and so naturally things got super hectic before I left! But I'm refreshed and renewed and I may have spent some time in super hero island at universal and gotten renewed vigor! So this one was a little bit longer for you guys as an apology and I'm done rambling, let me know what you guys think!**

**P.S. Writing Cap having sex for the first time was wiiiiieeeerrrrdddddd haha.**


	19. Chapter 19

Raven walked into the apartment, now fully furnished months later. It was harder to buy things now, the economy had been in better states. She tossed her keys on the entryway table and heard him in the kitchen. Making her way there she saw his old compass sitting on the table. She knew a picture of Peggy was in there. She didn't mind him still having it, she knew what it meant to him, and he didn't carry it with him every day like he had before they got together. It did make her a little sad though, but she wasn't sure why.

Ignoring it she went into the kitchen were Steve was standing at the stove. She went to him and he moved his head over, letting her kiss him on the cheek, "So what are you burning today?"

"I'm getting better." He playfully defended himself, "And I'm making steaks. Price on meat has gone way down."

"Not because of the reasons it should have though." She sighed.

"So, what's new up there? How's Nat doing?" He asked.

She gave him a half smile, "She's doing as good as can be expected. Clint…Clint's gone rouge."

He almost dropped the spatula, "What?"

"Yeah." She nodded, "He left two days ago and isn't answering any calls. He's completely off the radar."

"He did…he did lose his whole family." Steve's chest felt heavy, "Anything else?"

"Tony has officially retired, moved out to some lake house with Pepper. Apparently, they aren't doing the big wedding anymore." She told him, "Nebula and Rocket will have their ship fixed next week and be heading out to help Carol."

"So soon it'll just be Nat and Rhodey there?" He turned to look at her.

"Rhodey…Rhodey already left, he's been handling things for the new Secretary of State."

"Damn." He sighed.

"What?" She asked, she could tell he was hiding something.

"I was going to surprise you with a trip back to Korea next week…" He turned to look at her, "But I'd feel bad leaving Nat here all by herself."

"You know you don't have to do this right?" She put a hand on his waist.

"What are you talking about."

"Being domestic. If you want to be out there, with the others, helping to keep things from falling down even further, we can." She told him, "I'm up for it. You don't have to hide with me anymore. I'm better now thanks to you and Nat."

Smiling he gave her a kiss, "We aren't hiding. I just…I just don't think going out and busting the remaining arms dealers is really going to do much good for the other people."

"What do you mean?" Her forehead creased.

"I want to help the everyday person." He made their plates, "This is hard for us…but imagine what it's like for all of them, out there."

"Yeah." She nodded slightly, "You're right." Walking up behind him she wrapped her arms around his waist and said, "Then why don't you help them Captain America? If you could help someone like me, you can help them too."

"You think?" He asked.

She kissed in between his shoulder blades, "I do."

* * *

Grabbing her jacket, she heard footsteps behind her, "Ms. Raven?"

"What is it Johnathon?" She smiled, kneeling down as the little boy walked up to her.

"When are you going to be back?" He asked.

"I'm only going to be gone for two days." She ruffled his hair, "It'll go so fast you won't even realize it."

"You promise your coming back?" A little girl came out of the other room.

"How many of you are hiding in there?" Raven stood up and walked to the room to see fifteen children in there listening to the conversation. She sighed with a smile, "Don't worry guys, I'm not going to be gone forever. I'm just going to visit a friend, do some laundry, then I'll be back before you know it. And when I do, I'll be sure to bring Captain America with me again, okay?"

"Okay!" A few of them chimed perking up, the rest smiling now.

"Good, Stacy's going to be in her room so if you need anything at all, she can help you okay?" They all nodded, "Now time for bed, go on."

The kids all ran out of the room and up the stairs to their bedrooms. Raven couldn't help but smile at them. Heading to her car she drove upstate to HQ. Nat was still there by herself and Raven was sure to go every two weeks to do her laundry, but she knew it was really to check in on her friend.

"So, the orphanage thing going well?" Nat asked as she made herself a sandwich.

"Actually, yeah." She couldn't help but smile as she drank her water, "Most of them lost their parents, I can relate to that. You should come by and hang out with them sometime. It's weirdly therapeutic."

"Are you sure that's not just living with Rogers?" The woman smirked.

"Some days he does bring home his group therapy attitude." Raven held back a laugh, "The amount of times he's asked me 'And how are you doing when it comes to that?' is sickening. I told him he does it again then I'm living in the orphanage every night after."

"You have enough people to take care of that many kids?" She continued to eat her sandwich, "I mean there have to be laws and stuff when it comes to that sort of thing."

"There are, but they're being very relaxed with it." She explained, "We get some volunteers, people who lost kids or siblings, but we can't really go about adopting them out because the kids don't want to be with anyone but their families, and with so few people left to adopt, most of them lost kids and it hard on them. It's really complicated."

"That and once we get them back it would be another thing all together for parents to find their kids or plus the adopted parents might be attached, and then the legal stuff once again." Nat sighed.

"Yeah, it's…it's a lot," Raven smiled, enjoying the fact that her friend still had hope they would fix this. That had been the one thing in the past eight months that neither Nat nor Steve could get Raven to believe, that things would go back to normal. That she would ever see Wanda again. She continued, "But just being there for the kids is good enough for right now, we'll keep figuring things out but making sure they have food, place to sleep, and someone to look out for them and be there for them is what's important right now."

"It's a good thing you're doing Raven." Natasha told her.

She sighed with a smile, "Well much like the job here, someone's gotta do it."

They both chuckled to themselves, the noise echoing off of the empty walls of HQ.

* * *

"Could have used you tonight in group." Steve said as he walked into the living room. He smiled seeing her sitting by the window with a paper and pencil, drawing the night skyline.

"Oh yeah? Why's that?" She asked, her voice sounded as focused as she was.

"Had two people in who'd both lost their siblings. You could have provided insight that I don't have." He moved behind her, putting his arms around her waist and kissing the inside of her neck, "I think hearing advice from someone that understands is the best way to not be hurt by it."

"I mean I sort of tried to take over the world as an effect of my brother dying, so maybe my advice wouldn't be the best." She looked at him with a smirk on her lips.

"Okay, yeah I wouldn't have advised you to talk about that part," He laughed, "But the other stuff, about getting past it and learning to live with him not being there all the time. Stuff like that. I know it's still hard for you, but I know that the few times you talk about him and Wanda you feel better."

"Yeah, yeah, you go all therapy on me right now I'm not telling you about dinner." She raised an eyebrow at him, the corners of her lips curling up even more.

"Therapy stopped. I'm starving." He kissed her, "What's for dinner?"

"Lasagna, in the oven." She smiled as he kissed her again. Laughing slightly as he kept kissing her, she told him, "It's already done, you might have to heat it up though."

"Can't believe I got this lucky." He gave her a playful squeeze before letting her go, "Your drawing is amazing by the way."

"Thank you, although, I think it's a little dark." She looked back at it.

"Fortunately, and unfortunately, it's because it's darker outside. Half of the buildings rooms aren't in use anymore." Steve said heading to the kitchen.

"Yeah but the power bill is back up to what it used to be." She told him as she went over some lines, "They must have run out of the excess."

"There's that and less people to get the coal, so it costs more now." He came back out with a plate full of pasta.

Raven laughed at him, "Did you get enough? That's like three servings."

"You make good food." He shrugged putting some in his mouth.

"I don't know if that's a real compliment or not from the man who lived in a time where everything was boiled or packaged bland." She looked back at the drawing then to outside, sighing, "I wish the clouds would move so I could see the stars."

* * *

**A/N: Sorry guys, I've been having a really rough time lately and I'm trying to force my way out of it because it also caused me to get writers block and I hate not writing. Hopefully this'll get me back on track! Let me know what you think!**


	20. Chapter 20

Walking down the dark hallways of the orphanage, Steve looked for Raven. She hadn't been in her office, which she normally was at this time of night before she left, but tonight he wandered the quiet halls as children and volunteers slept. He heard footsteps on the floor above him and went for the stairs. Making his way to where they were coming from, he stopped, seeing her carrying a toddler in her arms who was sniffling against her shoulder.

She paced up the hallway, her hand running down the little girls back. When she turned around, she smiled seeing him. Raven made her way back over to him while keeping the child calm. She whispered, "Hey, what are you doing here?"

"We got done a little early and so I thought I'd come by and walk you home." He said back in the same quiet tone. Motioning to the little girl he smiled, "But I see you've got your hands a little full still."

"Yeah, she had a nightmare." Raven ran her fingers down the girls head, "She also has some attachment issues when it comes to me. I'm the most constant thing she's known other than her sister."

"This is Mackenzie, right?" He asked.

She nodded, "Yeah, almost two and a half."

"God, I remember when she couldn't even hold her own head up." He smiled before looking down at the girl, putting his hand gently on her back, "Are you still scared?"

The little girl shrugged as she looked at him, but she had a small little smile on her face. Raven asked her, "You ready for bed Kenzie? Do you want to sleep with your sister tonight?"

"Yesh." The little girl said with a slight lisp.

"Alright." Raven smiled before looking up at Steve, "I'll put her to bed then be ready to go."

"Okay." He said giving her a quick kiss as she walked to one of the rooms. When she came back out, they went back down the three flights of stairs and waved to Edward who was on duty that night as they left. The brisk air of the cold night hit their skin and Steve saw her pull her put her hands in her pockets to keep them warm. He smiled reaching over and pulling her hand out and holding it in hers, "It's a better way to keep it warm."

"Or I could just super heat my body." She joked.

"Yeah but you like that jacket to much." He looked down at her.

"I do." She looked at it, "It was the first Christmas gift I ever got."

"I still can't believe that I got you your first gift." He muttered, "You and your brother never?"

"Nope." She laughed as she shook her head, "No gifts until you."

"Well, I'll be sure to give you them all the time." He gave her a kiss on the cheek.

"Don't make me say something sappy." She smirked when he gave her a grin, she rolled her eyes, "You're enough for me. I don't need anything else."

"Whatever you say." He teased with a smile, "So how are Mackenzie and Lauren doing? And Johnathon? I don't come by as much as I used to."

"You got busy with the groups, and that's fine." She said, "They understand, but they do miss you. I don't think Mackenzie really remembers you though."

"Pour thing isn't going to know what to do when she gets her parents back." He sighed, "They've been gone since she was a month old."

"Yeah, it'll be rough for them too, seeing how much older she is." Raven looked at the ground as they walked, "Hard for me too honestly. I've helped raise most of them…I know they aren't but, in a way, they feel like they're mine…It's weird."

"I'm not going to lie, I thought that you wanting to help the kids who'd lost their parents was a good idea, but I didn't think you'd get so attached to them. I should have known better though." He smiled as they got to the door to their complex, "You'd be a great mom."

She gave a shy laugh as they went upstairs. After dinner they relaxed for the night talking about their days as well as watching the news. As they wound down, Raven brushed her teeth and went to the bed where Steve was already laying. Climbing in she laid on her side and felt him slide over to be next to her, his arm going around her waist.

He pulled her closer into him, her back against his chest. It'd been three nights since she'd stayed in their apartment, the orphanage needed her, or rather the kids there did. He always missed sleeping with her in his arms while she was away, but he knew it was important what she was doing, and he was proud of her for doing it. Peppering kissed along the back of her neck he realized he missed her in more than one way.

Raven smiled, she knew what he wanted, and she wasn't going to say no. She arched her back under the guise of stretching and getting more comfortable which pushed her butt into his hips, wiggling against him. Steve's stomach tightened when she did this, his length beginning to grow, and she could feel it her. "Not as tired as you thought you were?"

"No ma'am." He pulled her hips tighter against his, grinding against her, "You?"

"I don't have to be there super early tomorrow, so I can stay up a little later." She answered looking over her shoulder at him. He met her lips, kissing her deep as his hand went up her shirt. Reaching back, her fingers went through his hair, her back arching as he found her breast, toying with the hardening bud. His other hand moved lower, to the waist band of her shorts and he felt her tense in anticipation.

Raven enjoyed how he was less hesitant with what he wanted in bed now. It had taken close to a year before he wasn't nervous about doing something wrong or that might hurt her, and lately he had been very open about when he wanted her and she was perfectly fine with that as he slid his hand under her panties, fingers moving into her folds. He always made sure she got off at least once during foreplay, just in case she didn't during sex. He'd said he always wanted to be sure that she came first in everyway possible. It wasn't something he had to worry about though, he always made her cum during, it was like he refused to stop until she did.

Their kiss broke as she gasped, his fingers inside of her hitting her just right and his thumb circling around her clit. He'd mastered this pretty quick after the first few times he did it, he'd learned exactly where and how to move his fingers and she always came quickly from his hand.

When he felt her tighten around him, he kissed her forehead before rolling her onto her back and moving a top her. Her fingers ghosted along the bare skin of his back and chest while their kiss resumed. His length was hard against her lower stomach now as he worked on removing her shorts. Once they were off, he kissed her neck, then stomach.

"Steve!" She gasped as his tongue dipped into to her quickly. Feeling him smile against her as he sucked on her swelling button, she gripped at the pillows beside her head. She loved it when he was like this, it was rare, mostly only after they were apart for a while, when he would be more than open about what he wanted and instead just go for it, knowing that if she wanted him to stop she would tell him.

He knew she enjoyed him doing this, almost as much as she enjoyed him inside of her, and all he wanted in that moment was to hear her pleasure filled whines and moans and this was how he was able to get them from her. Feeling her thighs tensing over his shoulders, her foot going to a point against his back he knew she was getting close again. Steve heard her take in a sharp breath as she came and he kissed inside her thigh before beginning to make his way back up her body.

"I'd almost think you were trying to convince me to sleep at home more often." She panted out.

"No, I love how much you love those kids," He kissed her neck, reaching for the nightstand, "But maybe I'm making sure you remember what's here waiting for you from time to time."

"I could never forget." She smiled, pulling his mouth to hers as he unwrapped the condom and slid it on. "And you can always come stay at the orphanage anytime you want."

"I know, but I feel guilty taking you away from the kids, they need you more than me." He told her.

"God, I hate how sweet you are." She muttered.

"Liar." He grinned.

"Yeah, I know." She started to roll her eyes but instead they shut as he pushed into her. Her fingers were in his hair, gripping him tight as he moved in and out of her, his own arms wrapping around her. Soon they were entangled, their mouths moving in unison, her hand on his ass squeezing it as he moved in and out of her, a leg hooked on his hip allowing him in deeper.

Her back arched as she tightened around him and she could tell he wasn't even close to being done yet. Times like this were the only times she liked government experimentation. Steve kissed her deep, the group therapy he ran often reminded him just how lucky he'd gotten that she wasn't one of the vanished, that he still had her, and he would never take her for granted, always showing her what she meant to him.

Raven's fingertips pressed into his back, her second orgasm pulsing through her and Steve sat up for a moment, still moving inside of her, watching her as her fingers now gripped the pillow beside her head instead of him. He was so damn lucky. He picked her up and she wrapped her arms around his shoulders as she was now on his lap and he could feel her breath on his cheek. Like always he whispered, "I love you."

"I love you too." She smiled back.

He kept her up much later than he should have, but she was fine with it.

* * *

**A/N: I know this was a short one, but I really wanted to get something out! Hope you guys like it and I'll be back soon with another chapter!**


	21. Chapter 21

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Steve asked as they walked through security on the Raft.

"Yeah, it's fine." Raven gave him a small smile. The guards opened the door to the cells, and she walked in, Steve staying in the observation room. She'd told him about coming here after they'd killed Thanos, about what little she and Loki had talked about. Loki had been requesting to see her though, and this time Steve didn't want her to be alone even if she appeared to be in front of the man.

"You're looking well." Loki spoke to her, his hair neatly on either side of his face, prison uniform pressed to perfection as he stood at the glass of his cell smiling at her. "I've been asking for you for six months, why did it take you so long to finally come."

"I've been busy, and you aren't my top priority." She told him as she walked up to the cell. "What do you want?"

"I was hoping for a little time in the sun." He tried to charm her.

"No." It wouldn't work. Not on her, not anymore.

"It's been three years. Three years Raven. I've had no contact past the person that brings me my food. I haven't been outside. I haven't even heard from my own brother." Loki almost growled as he looked at her, "Surely he would be more lenient with me?"

"Really? You think Thor would be nice when it comes to you?" Raven almost laughed, "We haven't seen him in years. You wanna know why?" She stepped closer to the glass, "Because over half of Asgard was decimated by Thanos, most of them before he got all of the stones. What's left of them now reside in a small fishing village here on Earth in Norway. Thor hasn't left since he got them settled there. So why the hell would he be willing to help you when you were the one who helped Thanos do all of that to his people, _your_ people."

"They weren't my people." He turned away from her.

"Then why did you want to be their ruler? Why did you want your father to treat you the same as he did Thor? Because you wanted to belong with your people and instead you ripped them apart." Raven's voice shook.

"Shut up!" He yelled at her. He hated it now that she was right.

"Drop the illusion." She said and Loki just looked at her. Moving in closer she dropped her voice, "Let me see the real you."

He breathed out a laugh, "What are you talking about?"

Turning on her heel she began to walk back to the door, she wasn't going to waste her time anymore. The door opened and she could see Steve on the other side of it.

"Wait!" He yelled after her, his voice shaking, "Raven don't go! You're all I've had to speak to in years."

Her eyes left Steve as she turned to look at Loki, "I know. Who do you think told them not to let anyone near you and your silver tongue?"

"Please don't leave me." His jaw quivered.

She started to walk back towards him, "You left me."

"I should have looked for you. I was afraid of what Thanos would do to you if we lost. I didn't know that S.H.I.E.L.D. had gotten to you." He dropped the illusion and he was sitting on the floor, his hair past his shoulders, frizzed in places and matted in others. Lokis skin was paler than normal, his clothes wrinkled and unkempt. A tear went down his face, "I'm sorry, for what they did to you. I said I would never let them touch you." He began to move to the front of his cell, practically crawling towards her, "Please let me outside. Please, give me some reprieve from this hell. Five minutes, that's all I want. Please Raven, you aren't that cruel, are you?"

Raven knelt down, her face becoming level with Loki's. Reaching into her pocket she pulled out a wad of photos. She took the first one and pressed it to the glass, "This is Mackenzie and her sister Lauren. Mackenzie was just twenty-seven days old when Thanos killed her parents." She pulled out another photo, "This is Jonathon, he was three." She kept putting the pictures in his face, "Michael, Liza, Diedre, Steven, Phillip, Rose, D'Andre, Sarah, Linda," She kept going, photo after photo, until about forty were in front of Loki. He stared down at all the children. Her voice shook with anger as she told him, "These are all the kids I take care of. All the ones who's parents were killed by Thanos, and these are just the ones in Brooklyn. They don't get a reprieve, they don't get a break from their hell of being orphans. So why should you?"

His face went even paler as he looked up at her. "Raven…"

"No." She stopped him, "Don't try and convince me of anything. It won't work. All of these kids have lost two of the most important people in their lives. Some of them never even got to meet them. You created a world full of kids just like me. I know what part I played in it, I know what I did, and now I'm making up for it. And so are you. You don't get a moment in the sun, a _second_ out of this cell until they can feel the embrace of their parents again. You have to live with what you did, just like the rest of us."

"But they're never coming back." He almost started to weep.

"I know." Raven replied, "Just like you're never getting out."

She left the photos there as she stood up and returned back to the door. Steve was waiting for her on the other side, "You don't think that was a little harsh?"

"He's going to live for at least a thousand years." Raven told him, "We can't hold him forever, so he needs to learn his lesson now. We'll get nicer soon." She looked at the guard, "Leave the photos there."

"Yes ma'am." The man replied.

As they walked back to the helicopter she sighed, "I know it seems like torture…it kind of is since I learned it from S.H.I.E.L.D., but it's effective. We don't always have to like the means to the end."

Steve just nodded, he understood. And he knew other than Thor, Raven knew Loki the best. They'd been asked on how to deal with them and she was helping where she could. The flight back to their apartment was silent, Steve thinking about something she'd said. As they walked in the door he asked, "You really don't think we'll ever get them back?"

Raven stopped dead in her tracks. Turning to look at him her voice was sad, "I want to. But it's been three years…and the stones are gone. What can we do?"

"Not give up." He told her. "Is…is it because of the kids? Because you don't want to lose them?"

"What?" She almost whispered, her face scrunching as she looked at him, "You think that I want them to not have their parents? I can always visit them if I wanted if we were able to get them back. You think I would choose to not have Sam back? Bucky? _Wanda?_" Her eyes started to water, "It's not as simple as not giving up for me anymore Steve, I want our friends back, I think about them every damn day, but I can't have false hope…because if I do, then so do those kids…and I can't do that to them."

"God, I'm sorry." He went over to her, wrapping his arms around her, "I didn't mean it like that. It's…It's just hard sometimes still. And seeing him, seeing you both talk about what happened…it took me back."

"I know…me too." She hugged him back, "It's not that I don't want to get them back, it's just to hard for me to think we might one day when there isn't any evidence that we will."

Steve nodded, his lips pressed to the top of her head, "I know, it's hard for me too."

"You're just naturally better at it than I am." Raven held into him.

* * *

Natasha and Raven were sitting having dinner and Natasha was being abnormally quiet.

"So how's Bruce doing in his new wonder twin combination?" Raven asked.

"Good."

"Hows Rhodey doing in Iran?"

Nat keep looking at her food, "Good."

"Wakanda having any issues?"

"No." Natasha looked up at her and shook her head with a small smile.

Raven sat back in the chair, her eyes squinting, "What happened?"

"What do you mean?" The woman asked.

"Nat, you're only ever this unusually quiet when you're hiding something _really_ bad, or you want to ask for either mine or Steve's help on a job." Raven said before putting a bite of broccoli in her mouth.

Sighing, Natasha sat up against the back of her chair, and looked at Raven, "I found something."

"Okay."

"Something I don't think Fury ever intended for anyone to find." Natasha kept going.

"What do you mean?" Raven leaned in now.

"It was never in the computers, so it didn't get published with everything else. It's only on paper." She was avoiding the really hard part, "When the snap happened, they didn't have a lot of people to guard all the old stuff so a lot of it came here since it's Tony's property still…"

"What was it?" Raven had no clue what would make Natasha beat around so many bushes.

"Your file." She finally said.

"My file was on the computers though?"

Standing from the table, Natasha walked over to her desk and grabbed a box and brought it back over, "No, not all of it. This is your whole file…parents included."

"What?" Her voice almost cracked as she looked at the box.

"I…I looked through some of it just to find out what it was…but it looks like it's all there. Everything about your parents and your brother, and what they did in S.H.I.E.L.D." Nat crossed her arms uncomfortably, "Your stuff is in there too of course."

"It's impossible." Raven shook her head as she closed her eyes, forcing herself not to look at the container of files. "I tried…I tried looking for it. There was nothing…nothing in the database."

"Maybe they never put it on there?" Natasha offered.

"It means they didn't want people to know if it wasn't there…"

Natasha moved the box aside, "Or they didn't want you to know."

Raven looked back over at the box, "But know what?"

"I don't know." Nat looked at it too, she tried to smirk, "Wanna find out?"

"No." Raven almost blurted, but then her voice went sad, "No, not right now."

"Okay." Natasha understood. She knew if her family history was in that box, she'd be hesitant too. "Take it with you, it's not like S.H.I.E.L.D. can stop you now."

"Yeah." Raven sighed, her eyes still lingering on the box.

* * *

**A/N: Don't forget to let me know what you guys think :) I really appreciate it!**


	22. Chapter 22

Steve was cleaning up around the apartment while he was waiting for Raven to get home. Cleaning up the dining room he saw a file box that had been sitting there for close to a week, since Raven had come home from visiting Natasha. Lifting it off the ground he set it on the table, hearing Ravens keys in the door and took the lid off of the box as she came in. He said, "Welcome home."

"Thanks." She sounded exhausted, her word almost a sigh. Turning around she saw him pulling a file out of the box, "What the hell are you doing?"

"Huh?" He looked up at her, stopping mid-action as she almost stormed over to him. She yanked the file out of his hand and shoved it back in the box, "I was just trying to figure out what it was."

"It doesn't matter what it was, I had it in the corner for a reason." She put the top back on and picked it up, going over to the spare closet.

"Raven, what's in that file?" He followed her, more concerned about her behavior than what was really in there.

"Nothing." She put the box on a shelf and slammed the door.

"Clearly not." He stopped her from walking away, "The file had a S.H.I.E.L.D. logo on it and the way you're acting about it tells me it's clearly not nothing."

"It's the files on my family!" She yelled out. Steve's face fell and she closed her eyes. Sighing she said, "Just…Just leave them alone."

"Raven…" He moved in closer to her, his hands on her shoulders, "What's going on? You're never like this, especially when it comes to your past."

Not looking at him, she answered, "It's not just my past though." Taking in a deep breath she continued, "Do you know how hurt, how betrayed I was when I found out that Crow had been asked to be a part of the super soldier project? I thought I knew everything there was to know about us and then that just blind sighted me. Now there's more."

"You know that whatever's in that box, doesn't change a thing about who you are." Steve cupped her face.

Her eyes connected with his blue ones, "I have such a great image of my parents Steve…what if they were HYDRA?"

"What if they were? You weren't, Crow wasn't. You aren't your parents." He gave her a small smile, "You really want me to think you don't want to know anything about what's in that box."

"I'm scared of what's in that box." She was honest, "But if you want to look in it go ahead. I'm going to take a shower."

She moved from his arms but he stopped her, giving her a sweet kiss, "I love you."

"I love you too." She replied, finally giving him a slight smile as she went to go back to their room so she could shower. Raven knew that he was going to look in the box, he loved finding answers. When she came back out in a comfy t-shirt and shorts she wasn't at all surprised to find him sitting in front of the coffee table with the papers and files in front of him. She stopped before she got close enough to see what was on them, "Find anything interesting?"

"What do you want to know?" He asked looking up at her over his shoulder.

She shifted awkwardly, "Were…were they HYDRA?"

"No." He gave her a soft smile, "Your mom was a field medic. And your dad was a scientist."

"R-Really." She stepped closer and he nodded.

"It also has you and your brothers real name."

"What?"

"Yeah." He said as she sat down on the couch behind him, "Do you want to know?"

Her stomach was in knots, she felt sick but also like a huge rock was in there. It was so much at once it felt like, but it was only two things. "I…I-um I don't know."

"It's okay, I understand." He reached up and took her hand. His eyes roamed her face and he noticed she looked tired, it was more than just the box that had made her snap at him, "What else is going on?"

"I hate how good at reading me you've gotten." She sighed before running her hands over her face, "The kids all got into a fight today."

"What?"

"Not anything physical…" Raven rubbed the back of her neck, it had been one hell of a day, "Makenzie…Kenzie asked if she could call me mom." Steve's face fell slightly, knowing how that must have made everyone feel, knowing how it would have made him feel if the girl had asked him if she could call him dad. Looking at him she continued, "Lauren yelled at her that she already had a mom. Then Michael defended Kenzie saying that their parents were gone, then all of them started choosing sides about whether or not they still had parents. Kenzie was crying at that point and I was trying to calm her down while the other volunteers tried to stop the argument, but how do you stop something like that." Her eyes fell to the floor, "Then they all looked at me. Like I was supposed to have the answer." She moved from the couch to the floor next to him, "How…how do you have an answer for that?"

"What'd you tell them?" He turned towards her, putting down the file in his hand, knowing that what happened with the kids is why she didn't want anything to do with that box at the moment.

She let out a small laugh, fingers toying with her sleeves, "I said what I thought you'd say."

"Which was?"

"That their parents were gone, but they still had them." She leaned her head on the couch, "That just because they can't see them, doesn't mean they aren't there. That however they look at me and the others who work there, they still have parents who love them just as much as we do and that it's their choice on how to deal with that." She sighed, "The older ones understood it, but I think the younger ones still need time to figure it out."

Steve nodded, "That does sound rough…and it doesn't help that I was going to look through your stuff without asking."

"No," She shook her head before looking at him, "You didn't know what was in it. I didn't tell you so it was only fair for you to look."

"We're you really okay with me looking in it?" He asked.

"Yeah. Because it's you. I know you won't lie to me about what's in it." Raven leaned her head on her shoulder, "That you'll tell me the important things, like if my real name is a good one or not."

"It's alright, I'm just used to you being Raven." He kissed her on the forehead.

"Does it say what Crows was?" She asked.

"Yeah. Want to know?" He asked and she nodded scooting into him, "Connor."

He hadn't said his last name incase she didn't want to know that since it was hers too. Taking a deep breath she asked, "And…and mine?"

"You sure?" He looked at her.

"Yeah, just stick with Raven though." She gave him a nervous smile.

"I will. Shannon Marks." He looked at her and watched her face as she thought about it before her nose crinkled.

"I can see where they were coming from, but I feel like Raven suits me better." She held back a smile and one grew on his face.

"I'm sure as a child the name fit very well." He chuckled, "Do you want me to keep reading?"

"Yeah. Tell me if you find anything you know I would find important." She gave him a kiss before sitting back up on the couch and laying down. Turning on the TV she watched it while her fingers grazed through his hair as he went through every page in the box. Raven thought it was only fair, she'd gone through all of his files. Now they would both know the same about each other.

"Wow you weren't kidding about how smart your brother was. His IQ was on par with Tony's." He said after a while.

"Yeah, I have no clue what happened with me." She smiled.

"You must take after your mom. She saved a lot of lives." Steve looked back at her, "Just like you."

She returned his soft smile before he looked back to the papers. Raven had known she was going to have to look in the box eventually, she was glad though that he was willing to do it for her. When he finished he leaned forward and started looking back through pages. She sat up a little, "What is it?"

"Nothing." He said clearly distracted.

"Steve. What are you looking for?" She sat up even more.

Turning around to look at her he shook his head, "I probably just missed it. It's nothing to worry about."

"Missed what." Her voice was stern, "What isn't in there?"

He knew she was worried it was something about her brother, or even her, but it was possibly worse. Swallowing hard he moved back to her, "Don't think to much into it, I'm going to go back through and find it…but I didn't see anything about your father's death in there."

"Wha-What?" She clearly hadn't heard him right, "Did-Did you just say that there's nothing in there about my father's death?"

"They have your moms recorded as giving birth to Crow…but I must have missed where it said how he died." Steve went back to looking through the files and she just sat there watching him. There was no way her dad was still alive. She would know, she would have found out, wouldn't she? But after two more look through's Steve couldn't find it. He sat on the couch next to her as they looked at all the papers strewn about on the coffee table in front of them. He muttered, "I'm so sorry."

"What…what do I do?" She asked him. "Do…do I look for him?"

"Do you want to?" He looked down at her, "Because whatever you want to do, I'll do it."

"What if he's gone anyways." She knew there was a fifty percent chance that he was. "And if he's not…should I even try? Would he even want to see me? He…he left us. Me and Crow. He left us to be turned into weapons."

"He might not have known." Steve took her hand and watched as tears bubbled into her eyes.

"But he still left us." She looked up at him, "What do I do Steve?"

"Whatever you want. I'm with you and I'll help you." He reassured her. "This isn't about what he wants or what he knew. It's about what you want and what all you want to know. So, do you want me to find him?"

She asked him, "Do you think you can?"

"I found you, didn't I?" He smiled down at her.

"Then yeah, find him." She leaned into his chest and he wrapped his arms around her.

* * *

**A/N: Sorry it's taken so long for an update! I didn't forget I swear, I just had a really hard time with this chapter for some reason, I knew the points I wanted to hit and just didn't know how to get there haha. But I made myself hunker down and get it done. Hopefully I did it well and it flowed! Let me know what you guys think!**


	23. Chapter 23

Steve felt her shift in his arms. He almost always was up first, he had always gotten up early since joining the military, but lately the reason he woke up early was to enjoy more time with Raven. She was busy, and he loved that she had something to do, something she was passionate about, but he did miss having her all to himself at times, and this had become that moment for him.

She kissed his chest, "You're doing it again."

"What?" He smiled as she pulled away finally opening her eyes.

"Watching me sleep." She blinked herself more awake.

"Maybe I like looking at you." He smirked.

She laughed, "You better."

"Oh, I definitely do." He kissed her with a smile. She kissed him back and when they pulled apart, he asked, "What do you want for breakfast?"

"You cooking?" She quirked an eyebrow.

He breathed out a laugh, "I was thinking more like going somewhere."

"Oh really?" She smiled with her eyebrow still up.

"Yeah. It's a Saturday, you aren't planning on going to the orphanage today, so since you will anyway, I figured we could both go and check in on everyone and then spend the rest of the day in the city." He ran his thumb over her cheek.

"Have I told you recently that I love you?" She smiled.

"Not out loud, but don't worry. I know." He gave her another kiss. "Come on, I want bacon."

"And biscuits." She said following him up in the bed.

It was nice, them having time together. They very rarely had ever gotten the chance to go on dates before and now they made sure to go on one at least every two weeks. The city was nothing compared to how they were used to it being, but they tried to let it bother them as little as possible.

Raven bought some candy for all of the kids for when they stopped in and Steve had to admit, he missed the growing children. He'd used to go in all the time after it all happened, but as he got busy with his support groups he came in less and less, but he could tell the kids missed him from their smiles and hugs. As she was checking in on everything, he felt his phone buzz in his pocket.

When he saw the text was from Rhodey he went off to the side before opening it.

_This your guy?_

Steve looked at the picture and he wasn't sure without the reference photo, but the man seemed to share Ravens hair color and face shape. He texted back: _Not sure. Send me the info._

"Hey you ready?" Raven came up to him with a smile.

"Yeah, you want to take a walk through the park?" He asked taking her hand.

"You know in all the time I've lived in New York, I've never actually gone to Central Park." She looked up at him.

"Well then, let's fix that. It's not that far." He leaned down kissing her forehead, "Knowing you, you might want to bring a sketch book too."

* * *

Raven adjusted her suits pant leg and Natasha smiled at her, "Feel weird?"

"Feels like I've gained weight." Raven smirked.

"Well you haven't. I think you just got used to looser pants."

"Yeah, and smaller shoes."

"It's just a fire Raven, nothing big." Her friend came and sat beside her, "If the winds weren't so strong and it wasn't growing at an insane rate, they wouldn't have even called us."

"Yeah I know, but we'd still be on our way because you're obsessed." She picked on Nat as the ship start to land, "It's just weird. Steve and I are 'retired' from all of this. I never thought I'd have the suit back on."

"It's a good kind of weird though isn't it?" Natasha stood up as the doors opened, a small smirk on her face.

Raven sighed, "I think so? I mean this type of fighting is just weird to me in general. Like I feel like Steve should be here."

"Yeah, well the shield doesn't do much good against forest fires."

"Then why's a spy here?" Raven smiled through her question.

"Oversee the operation." Natasha spoke convincingly but then a small smile grew on her face, "Plus you know, girls' trip. I'm sure Steve's enjoying having the place all to himself."

* * *

He looked from the address scrawled on the paper in his hands to the door across the street from him. He was in Austria, where Ravens father was supposed to have been. He wasn't labeled as vanished, but Steve didn't want to get her hopes up. As he walked up and knocked on the door, he knew he also wasn't going to let her get hurt.

"Coming!" He heard a man shout. He waited and when the door opened the man from the picture was in front of him, an older version of what had been in the file. The man's face wore shock as he looked at Steve, "You're…"

"Yeah." Steve didn't waste any time, "Are you Andrew Marks?"

"What?" The man froze, "How do you know that?"

"You match the photo." Steve handed him an old photo of the man from the S.H.I.E.L.D file.

"Come in." The man opened the door wider, "No one here knows me by that name."

"I know. You go by Charles Wilson here." Steve looked at him as he closed the door.

"What can I do for you Captain America?" Andrew turned to look at him, a nervous smile on.

"Why'd you do it?" Steve asked, his mouth moving before his brain, "Did you even care what they were going to do to your kids?"

"Shannon and Connor?" His face went pale, "What…what do you mean? They're-"

"They experimented on them!" He yelled at the man, his anger boiling, "Raven's gone through over four-hundred and forty-three experiments because you disappeared! They told them their parents had died! HYDRA took them and all this time you've been alive?!"

"Raven…Raven's my Shannon?" Andrew muttered, his eyes wide. "That's impossible."

Steve threw the file down on the table next to them, "It's all in there."

"No, Shannon had cancer." Andrew said, starting to flip through the pages, "We were trying to find a cure for her when Maggy was pregnant with Connor and the treatments were so severe it sent Shannon into a coma and Maggy got sick from the exposure. She died giving birth and Connor didn't make it. I-I couldn't stand to be there anymore…"

"None of that is in these files." Steve pointed at them, "You left your children. You left them in the hands of monsters."

"No!" Andrew shuffled through the papers, "They were dead, and Shannon was going to pass soon, and I couldn't watch that! I couldn't watch my little girl die!" He stopped and looked at Steve, realizing what he had said earlier, "They experimented…on my children?"

"They wanted to make more super soldiers." Steve watched as the man sat down at the table looking at everything.

"Oh, god." He picked up a photo of Raven, "She's my Shannon?"

"Raven is Shannon Marks." Steve confirmed, watching the man, he must really have believed they all died, just like Raven had believed he died.

"What about Connor?"

"He was killed by HYDRA to try and control her."

Andrew looked up at him, "They killed a little boy in front of his sister?"

"He was nineteen when he died."

"Oh god." Tears started to fall from the older man eyes, "I left them… I didn't know."

Steve felt a weight in his chest, his stomach sinking, "You really didn't know that they were alive and that S.H.I.E.L.D. had them?"

He shook his head, "No, when Maggy died she was the one I saw, they said they'd taken Connor away since he was a baby. I said good-bye to Shannon and left in the middle of the night, her heartbeat was so weak... How…How did they save her?"

"I don't know. It never said she was sick." Steve told him.

"I'm a horrible father…I should have known they were alive…I put my own grief above them." His head fell into his hands, "She hates me, doesn't she?"

"She thought you were dead up until three months ago." Steve felt his anger leaving. He'd wanted to hate the man. But he knew how hard it was to watch the people you love die, he couldn't blame him for not being able to be there when his two year old died. "She's mostly just confused. She said if I could find you, to do so."

"Now that you have…what happens?" Andrew asked.

"I don't know." Steve realized that the hard part was coming.

"Can I… Can I meet her?" The man asked, "I've seen so many things about her… Are the abilities…did they do that to her?"

"Most of them, yeah. They messed up and she was sick for a while." Steve told him, "Stark and Banner worked together to fix what was wrong."

"I can't believe S.H.I.E.L.D. let them do that to children." A tear went down the man's cheek, "My research into the super soldier project was used on my own two children."

"You were looking into it?" Steve asked, taking a step towards him.

"Yeah, I worked opposite of Hank Pym. He had his particles and I had the serum…I never got to finish it though…never wanted to without Maggy." Andrew told him.

Steve nodded, "Are you willing to come to New York? I'll let you see her. But it's up to her if she wants to see you."

"I understand." Andrew said, "Can I pack somethings? Pictures just in case?"

"Yeah." Steve motioned for the man to go. He ran his hand over his face. He wasn't sure how Raven was going to react to this.

* * *

**A/N: So I know this took a while but I had computer issues, then mental heath issues, then used the fact I hadn't posted in a while as an excuse and blah blah blah. Next chapter should hopefully be up soon, if not, yell at me to do it. And leave a review! :)**


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